The Shadow
by EmeraldMonkeys
Summary: The characters of Once Upon a Time return to the Enchanted Forest to rebuild their homeland and start afresh. However, there they meet Elena, an outlaw with an ability to find trouble and a mysterious and troubling past whom Regina finds strangely captivating. Regina/OC pairing. :)
1. Chapter 1

**Ok guys. First fanfic so be kind and please please please review because any suggestions would be brilliant. Also, I'm English not American as probably the vast majority of readers are so my spelling may be different on certain words**

 **I do not own any of the characters**

The Enchanted Forest was the picture of serenity. The trees swayed casually in the light breeze, the sun's rays beamed down from the blinding sky and dappled the forest floor in honey-coloured spots giving the fresh air a distinctly golden tint. It was late September and there was a distinct chill in the air making the leaves shiver with cold as they fluttered to the ground in a whirlwind of auburn and were laid to rest on the long-abandoned road.

For a whole 28 years, that road had lived in blissful silence, listening to the echoing footfalls of the forest wildlife. For 28 years, it had bathed its surface in the glorious heat of the sun by day and, by night, stared in wonder at the constellations like a ceiling of fireflies.

No longer.

It took only an instant. They weren't there and then they were. For within that instant, The Enchanted Forest stirred at the return of some familiar presences. The realm-travellers opened their eyes to take in their long-lost home. Of course, Emma and Henry were all but strangers to this new land but they nevertheless breathed in that floral, woody scent that surrounded them. They, all of them, stood there, basking in the strangeness of that moment; Snow White, her Prince Charming, the Evil Queen, Emma, Hook, Henry and Red. It had taken a long time, but Emma had finally allowed her parents to persuade her into returning to the kingdom. It was their duty.

Emma was the first to awaken herself from the reverie.

"So…, what now?" she asked expectantly.

Snow White shook herself awake.

"Now, we find our home."

"What, and you think we should just barge into the castle and say 'sorry, we're taking over your kingdom now'?" Regina commented. David put his hand up to his forehead in thought.

"She's right," he said, "It's been 28 years. Things will have moved on and we've no right to barge in."

"Then why on earth are we here?" Red butted in. She hadn't been sure whether she should come on this mission and left Granny tending the diner all alone back in Storybrooke but she knew in her heart that this was her home and they all needed to fight for it. "I'll get that kingdom back for you myself, if you don't."

"Red calm down," her best friend smiled reassuringly at her. "It's just that we can't risk causing another war. But you're right, we need to see what this new kingdom is like and whether it will be safe for the rest of Storybrooke's residents to return." As she said this, she held the werewolf's upper arm and nodded encouragingly as if trying to infect them all with the same hope.

Emma rose up from where she'd been sitting on a fallen tree next to Henry.

"Why don't we go to this castle and see what it's like?" she suggested.

It was a weak idea and they didn't honestly feel like it was going to get them anywhere. Secretly, they were all wondering whether it truly was a good idea to go back after such a long time. After all, they couldn't exactly expect to receive a warm welcome. Things must have been a lot more peaceful without either the Dark One or the constant feud between Snow White and the Evil Queen. But still, no one had a better suggestion so they decided to follow the road and see where it took them.

They had been walking for little over a couple of hours now. The party were becoming increasingly fed up and irritable, not to mention they still didn't know where the path was taking them. Everything was so different now. Henry was dragging his feet and complaining, leading the adults to wonder why they had brought the kid along anyway. Oh yeah, because no one had wanted the responsibility of looking after the son of both the Saviour and the mayor. Emma kept trying to entertain him by talking about how exciting it was to see this real life fairytale world but even that fell on deaf ears after a while.

Regina was walking along in a daze, thinking about whether anyone would recognise her and whether she could explain that she'd changed and that she really hoped that she could be one of the heroes for once. The chance to prove herself to the world meant everything to her. Her attention was soon attracted by David who had slowed his pace considerably and was now looking around with a puzzled look on his face. She quickened her pace until she was walking beside him.

"What is it?" she whispered.

"I thought I heard someone cough earlier. Not one of us. I thought I had imagined it until I heard it again just now."

They both looked discretely into the brown folds of the wood for any foreign shapes lurking around. Suddenly, David swung round, pointing, "Behind that tree." That caught the attention of the entire company and they all turned to the object of his gaze, a large oak tree, large enough to hide a thin body behind.

Without uttering another word, they all cautiously approached the tree, coming at it from different angles that they might catch the intruder off guard. Charming and Hook had their swords drawn, Emma had her gun out and pointed and Mary-Margaret had an arrow ready. Regina stayed back with Henry, a fireball ablaze in her palm, the other hand pressed protectively against her son's chest. The routine was so rehearsed.

The two men drew closer and closer to the tree, muscles tensed. In an instant, David leapt round and lashed out with his sword. There was a thud and the sword was buried in the wood. He stared at the empty space. He was sure someone had been there.

THWACK

A black, buckled boot swung down from somewhere above him, causing him to topple ungraciously to the floor. At that moment, the group launched into action. The assailant dropped noiselessly to the ground drawing a long, slightly curved sword from her back and proceeded to enter combat with the pirate. It took little time before he was disarmed and practically thrown to the ground where he lay unconscious next to his comrade. This, however, allowed for a clear shot of the target. An arrow was loosed and a shot fired. The bang echoed throughout the woods causing several flocks of birds to flee, startled, from their nests. Neither missile succeeded because no sooner had they fired, the black figure had hoisted herself into the tree, climbing with great agility and stamina before she reached one long branch. She ran along this oaken arm and with one leap, jumped into the next tree then continued to leap from tree to tree, lower and lower, until she hit the ground running.

Raising two fingers to her mouth, she let out a whistle that pierced the tense air within a mile radius. No sooner had she done this, a great black horse showed up out of nowhere, having been waiting patiently for his mistress's command. It made straight for her and she mounted it expertly mid-gallop. Meanwhile, the company had been watching this spectacle open-mouthed. Even Hook had raised his chin up to gawk at the lithe black figure.

The intruder was just breathing a sigh of relief and turned around to laugh at the unfortunate travellers. He laugh, however, was interrupted when she saw a fireball come out of nowhere and land right in front of her stallion. It reared furiously and the rider, caught unawares, toppled off its back, the wind knocked out of her chest.

She lay there, head throbbing and confused, staring up at the blinding sun. The group encircled her, swords to her throat. She tried to stop herself. She really did. But she couldn't help it.

"Who are you and why were you following us?" David demanded but was interrupted as a fit of giggles erupted from the girl lying on the ground in front of him.

This outburst caught Regina by surprise and she clenched her jaw as the laughter invaded her skull. It was so irritating and she didn't even know why. She looked down at the girl. She had pale-ish skin, quite pale, thin lips, a rounded petite nose and bright green eyes which were sparkling with merriment in the sunlight. Her hair was so dark it might have been black but in the sun it was proven to actually be a shade of brown. It was long and wavy, curling over her raven black leather shoulder pads in all the right places. The leather seemed to be her thing. It was nothing but leather from head to foot, cuirass, leggings and boots. Regina may even have found her attractive if she wasn't so damn annoying.

"Who are you?" Charming repeated the question more firmly. They were all looking at her as if she was mad. After all, she was almost rolling around in mirth. Eventually, her smile faded as she looked at their stern faces.

"I'm The Shadow," she said. "Pleased to meet you." She accompanied this by sticking her arm straight up in the air as if asking for a handshake. None of them took it.

"Suit yourselves," she mumbled sullenly in mock hurt.

Regina wasn't taking any of this.

"Why were you following us? Tell us the truth or the next fireball will be directed between your eyes." _Beautiful green eyes, she noted inwardly_. This time, the girl, or The Shadow as she was supposedly known, replied with dead seriousness.

"Shadowing."

 **Thanks for reading and let me know as to whether I should continue. The storyline improves, I promise. And don't forget to review.**


	2. Chapter 2

It was fair to say that none of them had a clue as to what to do with this girl. She was clearly dangerous. Unstable, yes, but dangerous. It felt as though hours passed as they stared at her, each of them pondering the same questions. Eventually, the girl cleared her throat and motioned to get up.

"Yes, well, you might have all day but I don't so… if you'll excuse me…" As she lifted her back off the ground, she clutched at her spine with her spare hand. "Ow! I should definitely rethink wearing swords on my back."

No sooner had she got to her feet, several pairs of arms made to restrain her from all sides and she had to stumble around regaining her balance.

"Whoa, calm down. You're making me seasick," she exclaimed irritably.

"You're not getting away that easy, love," smirked the Captain as his hook curled itself maliciously round her upper arm like a viper. Ten minutes into meeting someone and she's already made an enemy, _you go girl!_

"I'm flattered, really, but the position of pack animal is already taken," she looked pointedly at her horse, "go stalk someone else." She tried to tear her arms away from their grasps but their grips only tightened. She glanced round at their suspicious faces and rolled her eyes.

"For God's sakes I have a life. I can't just stand here being gawked at all day. Besides, it's getting kinda creepy now."

Snow White spoke up.

"We won't let you go until you tell us why you were following us," she demanded. The Shadow looked into her determined, forest green eyes. She could see she wasn't going to get away from this. She threw up her hands in desperation and a groan of pure frustration escaped her lips.

"Fine. Fine," she sighed. "I was planning on sneaking up behind you and slitting your throats one by one until you were all dead and I could burn your bodies."

At this, there was a combined intake of breath and a spout of flame erupted near her left ear. She spun around as if it had already singed her.

"Would you seriously stop doing that? I was joking."

"Talk. Fast." Regina lowered her voice threateningly, holding the globe of pure flame closer to the girl's neck. As the fire came closer and closer, her neck glowed more and more orange with the heat and a bead of sweat trickled down. Regina watched the girl's face intently. _She didn't want to do this_ , she told herself. _She's a danger to all of us, to Henry._ The former Evil Queen could not decide whether the flicker in the emerald eyes was that of fear or just the reflection of the caged inferno in her palm.

"Look, I was just following you, seeing if you were a threat. You do look kinda odd." Her voice sounded steady enough but she kept glancing at the fireball nervously. "No offense" she added, gesturing to the scary, fire-manipulating lady still wearing her mayoral attire, "but you must see what I mean."

Emma, who had been watching the exchange, piped up. "She's telling the truth."

"Oh don't tell me," Regina said, "your lie detector again Sheriff?" but even as she said it, her fingers retreated into a tight fist and the flames were instantly extinguished.

"So…I can go?" The girl asked hopefully.

"I suppose," nodded Scary-Lady, "but next time I catch you following us, I'll burn that horse from under you." It sounded scarier in her head but the conviction wasn't quite there.

"Noted," the girl replied, and stumbled over to where the black stallion was grazing casually, having watched the scene play out with interest.

Meanwhile, Emma turned to Regina in attack mode.

"You didn't have to interrogate the poor girl, Regina. What was that about?"

Regina rolled her eyes.

"Look, I'm sorry," she apologised reluctantly, "but she did say she wanted to kill us all."

"She was joking Regina. That was pretty obvious, unless she was a psycho," Mary-Margaret put in, tilting her head to the side as she considered this last option.

"Oh yes, Snow White, the Queen of all humour," Regina cut in sharply.

At this point, The Shadow, who had been listening to this argument with an amused smile in one corner of her mouth, stopped adjusting the buckles on her horse's saddle, and her brain began to whirr.

Snow White? Now that rang a bell. Something about a curse? An Evil Queen, was it? She felt as if she was pulling at a very dusty string of memories. It all seemed familiar but jumbled up, like someone had rearranged the alphabet. She remembered that her mother had told the story when she young but she couldn't for the life of her work out what it meant. Could it be that the cursed ones had returned? That this was _the_ Snow White and Prince Charming. And Scary-Lady, well that could only be one person. She shuddered with sudden cold.

Hearing a cough behind her, she swivelled round, plastering a smile on her face to pretend she hadn't just had the most disturbing realisation of her life.

"Can I help?" It was the blonde woman.

"Actually, I was going to ask you the same thing. You look a bit lost and I know this place like the back of my hand." She sure as hell was gonna find out what these people were doing. The others heard her and looked at each other, conflicted. On the one hand, they could do without any attention, but on the other, it was pretty clear that they were wandering around aimlessly.

"Maybe…" said Red, "she could take us to the next village. I'm sure we could find our way from there."

Everyone turned to look at the wolf who, until then they'd forgotten was present.

"We could sure use some help," admitted Snow White.

The attention then fell to Regina. She glared back at them as if to say _Seriously?_ At last, she rolled her eyes and gave an almost unrecognisable nod, as if conceding defeat.

At that moment, the emerald eyes lit up gratefully as she felt like she'd been accepted into some exclusive club. Now to find out what Team Curse were planning next.

The Shadow, which was still the only name they had for her, led the group west along the forgotten, greening road. Weeds were shooting up out of the earth like hands grabbing at their ankles and every now and then a tree would stick out a spindly wooden leg and cause them to stumble. She was used to this forest by now. She understood it completely. Like any character, it has its faults and its perks. When threatened, it could be hostile then the wind would blow hard and the trees would draw nearer and lean over like some great shadow. But, it could also be generous. It could give life with its waters and berries and provided shelter from the pouring rain.

After they'd walked a while, Emma came up behind their leader and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey," she said, "I'm Emma."

"Hey," the object replied without turning round.

"Soooo… you have a name?"

There was no reply.

"Aww. C'mon. Or am I just gonna have to call you The Shadow, cos it's not exactly easy on the tongue?"

The girl noticeably hesitated in her walking. She was considering.

"Call me Elena," she said eventually.


	3. Chapter 3

By the time they reached the village, the swollen bruise that is the night sky had closed in around them, entrapping them in the sleeping settlement. As they turned the last corner in the road, Elena found herself looking up at the stars. Secretly, she had enjoyed the company. She liked Emma and her refreshingly direct way of looking at life and they had talked of all kinds of things: family, death, friends, loss. When she saw those glittering beads of light winking down at her, she was reminded of how lonely her life was. How ironic that the stars, which have led so many a sailor home, were the most lonely beings of all.

Turning round, The Shadow heard her followers breathe very exhausted sighs of relief as they reached the end of the day's journey. Henry was practically asleep on his feet.

"Where do you suggest we stay tonight?" Prince Charming asked, scanning his eyes over the collection of wooden tents.

"I doubt any of the villagers will take you in what with you being mysterious strangers and all but please, feel free to collapse on a pile of leaves when you feel like it." Elena replied with pointed sarcasm.

"What, there's no inn here?" spat the Queen, sounding quite disgusted.

"No inn, no money, no food," said Elena simply. "Enjoy your stay," she added with a forced smile and a look that dared them to find it funny. The tourists clearly weren't happy with the sleeping arrangements but that was royalty for you, Elena thought.

The group quickly scoured the area for a place to rest. There was no food and everyone was too tired anyway. They found an abandoned barn not far from the village, its inhabitants, presumably, had run out of money and been forced to give up the place which had now fallen into rot and disrepair in its rejection. They each found a small area to occupy, laying down their coats and doing the best they could to get comfy. Regina conjured a few blankets to keep them warm as they could seemingly feel the wrath of the wind, huffing and puffing on the fragile, thin walls of the barn.

It had been agreed that Elena would stay with them until morning and then point them in the right direction. After one look out of their rural castle, David had realised that it was useless to try and find his bearings in this swirling haze of mist. The young raven-haired girl sat with her legs up against her chest, leaning on a thick beam that reached up to the leaky ceiling. Her eyes were far away, as if looking through a portal at some other distant realm and her hand had unconsciously strayed to a string of simple wooden shapes round her neck. She didn't hear someone approaching behind her.

"Blanket?" asked an unmistakable voice. Elena shook herself conscious and automatically stretched out a hand to receive the object.

"Thanks," she said in monotone.

The Evil Queen raised her eyebrows and strode away. Outwardly, she wore her pissed expression, choosing to be angry at the girl who had threatened her son and was continuing to be nothing but an irritation to her; her tone, her sarcasm, the way she went from hysterical to dead serious to hysterical like the flickering of an old lightbulb. But, if she was being totally honest, she was more than a little intrigued by her as well, especially her eyes; those soulful eyes, like green planets surrounded by the darkness of space. She wondered what unexplored secrets hid behind their innocent façade. Who was she? It was her eyes that deceived her, hypnotised her, making her think that she was just a girl, an innocent when she knew, she felt that there was so much more. Regina's mind rolled with these thoughts, rising and falling like her breathing until she herself felt as though she were falling, falling into the infinite void of sleep.

When Regina wake the next morning, dishevelled and beyond starving, there was already a pinky orange tint in the morning sky. She knew by the empty, ripping feeling in her stomach that she wasn't going to get any more sleep that morning and looked around enviously at her sleeping companions. Getting to her feet, she saw Henry curled up in a ball next to his birth mother. She smiled. Taking up one of her own blankets, she placed it tenderly around his shoulders. Eventually, Regina tore herself away from the sight of her son and decided to occupy herself by looking for breakfast.

She stepped out of the isolated barn only to be met by a swift gust of wind which almost swept her off her feet. She was very glad Emma hadn't been there to make some kind of comment. It was odd to see the farmyard ruins in the light of the morning, glimmering in the young sunlight. She approached the road and took the turn she thought led towards the village but it was difficult to be sure. Not far along, the path wound into a body of trees. _That's ok_ , she thought, _the village_ is _in the forest._ However, after a while, she began to doubt her choice. The barn hadn't seemed this far from the village. Stubbornly, she convinced herself that it may be just round the next corner, and the next, and the next, until she finally admitted it. She was lost.

Ok, not lost. She hadn't taken any turns. She could easily just walk back the way she had come.

She groaned internally. All that time wasted. Reluctantly, she turned around to walk back to the barn, intending to wake up the entire Enchanted Forest if she had to. No one messes with the Evil Queen on an empty stomach. Before she had gone far, though, something caught her eye. A piece of paper, pinned to a tree and rippling like a banner in the breeze. In her curiosity, she felt drawn to it and approached it tentatively as if it were some kind of explosive. She immediately recognised the face on the page. Elena.

 _ **WANTED**_

 _The Shadow_

 _For numerous crimes against the King and the people of the Enchanted Realm_

 _Among those being: treason, murder, theft,_

Regina stepped back from the poster as if it had given her an electric shock. So that was who she was. That was what she was hiding. She had known something was wrong, but would never had guessed at something on this scale.

 _Had she thought she was going to get away with it?_ Regina thought. _Well, evidently which was why she was now sleeping comfortably in the barn, sharing a roof with my family. My SON!_

With that, Regina practically ran back to the derelict building, all the time theorising just what she was going to do to that conniving, detestable, dirty criminal.

Elena had woken that morning to the blissful sensation of not being alone. She looked happily around her at her newfound companions. She might have called them friends if it weren't for the fact that they were all suspicious strangers who had been cursed 28 years ago and had now mysteriously returned looking exactly the same age and having forgotten the fact that they hated each other with a passion. It was all too confusing. She could have sworn that Henry, the kid, had called both Emma and Scary-Lady 'Mom' and that Emma had called Snow White her mother. But she'd been sure that the Evil Queen was Snow White's stepmother. What the hell? She rolled her eyes at the situation. Somehow, it made the whole thing seem a lot less serious.

She stood up and shook herself awake easily. She was used to the sleeping rough and the early mornings. In fact, today had been quite the lie in. Out of the corner of her eye she saw David approaching her.

"Mary Margaret and I are thinking about getting some food from the village," he said. Elena nodded. She hadn't even noticed the growling from her stomach.

"Do you know where Regina's gone? We need her to conjure us some money," he asked.

Elena blinked, surprised.

"She can do that?"

"Well, she does have magic," he replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Have you seen her?"

"No, I haven't," Elena confirmed, distractedly, "but why doesn't she just conjure you food instead?"

"Uhh… I don't know, something about the nutritional content," David murmured as he walked off to look outside. Elena followed. She wasn't worried about the Evil Queen. She was more likely to worry about anyone who crossed her path, but for now, they would just have to wait for her to return. Splitting up did not seem the best plan.

It was half an hour of painful waiting before the Queen returned. Elena had stayed far out of everyone's reach as the hunger had lowered the combined mood of the group to a very low standard and she didn't want to get involved. When they finally heard the sound of rapid footsteps in their direction, they collectively heaved a sigh of relief. Finally.

"Where have you been?" Mary Margaret asked the approaching Regina. "Everyone has been so worried." Although hungry would have been the more appropriate adjective. But the woman just ignored her. It took a while for things to click in Elena's brain but eventually she realised that the sight of pure fury incarnate that was the Evil Queen was headed straight towards her.

Striding right past Snow White, Regina wasted no time in discharging her anger in a full on punch to The Shadow's horrified face.

Time stood still.


	4. Chapter 4

"You treacherous, malicious, infuriating, no-good bitch!" shouted Regina, shocking the onlookers into a deathly silence.

"That was mild," commented Elena, rubbing her bleeding nose tentatively. There was no need to ask what had happened. She must have found out the truth, why she was living in the forest. There were hundreds of posters scattered all over the woods, slandering her name. But they were false charges. Elena had hoped that she could gain their trust first but they had no idea what was really happening. She fought the king's men every day of her life, trying to battle the cruelty of the king's regime. The king, who extorted from them all their money. If there was no money, the soldiers would take possessions and then even children. They'd be taken to serve the king in his palace or even sold into slavery and shipped to far-off lands. If only Regina could see, could trust her. She looked at the fuming woman in front of her.

"Let me explain. Please," she begged. She needed these people on her side. "What you saw, it's not true."

"Elena. Regina. Please, what the hell's happening?" asked Emma. Regina wasted no time.

"That liar that you've been calling a friend is in fact a wanted criminal." She held up the fatal piece of paper. "Though it shouldn't come as a surprise. The creature practically radiates insanity."

They all crowded round the poster.

"It's true? The Shadow is a criminal?" asked Snow White. Any confidence she had built in this newfound girl was now shaken to the core.

"Ha," snorted Regina. "Don't sound so surprised. She's called The Shadow. Not exactly The Saviour is it?"

"It wasn't me that chose the name!" shouted Elena, she was angry now, angry and upset. She was losing the only hope of friendship in this place. She wanted so badly for them to understand. She desired only to feel needed by someone and no sooner had she started to think she was starting to belong somewhere, it all collapsed around her. She reacted in the only way she knew, aggression.

"I am not a murderer! I help people. It's what I do. Just ask them, the villagers. They will tell you. I'm on their side." As she said this, she felt the strength in her voice fading and her words started to crack and lose their conviction. Watching their disbelieving faces, it was so frustrating. She just wanted to cry but she couldn't.

Stay strong.

"Looks like we're finally seeing you for who you really are, snake," spat Killian. He was enjoying this a little too much. He and David grabbed onto her shoulders so that she couldn't move. Not that she would have tried to get away. Elena attempted to relax and compose herself. She needed to explain without sounding like it was the babble of some batty old woman.

"I trusted you," breathed Emma, "We trusted you. Why on earth did we have faith? In you?"

"Just hear me out, ok?" pleaded Elena having restored some calm to her voice. There was a pause of consideration before Mary Margaret finally spoke.

"Ok, we'll listen."

"WHAT?" Regina cried out, a vein protruding from her forehead. "You're going to listen to her?" She couldn't have been more angry if Henry had said he wanted to learn how to sail with Captain Guyliner.

"It's only fair Regina. We can't just condemn her this easily. What if we've missed something?"

Elena gave her a grateful smile. _A sad smile,_ Regina thought.

"Thank you," The Shadow nodded appreciatively and cleared her throat nervously. "My name is Giovanni. Elena Giovanni. And I left home when I was sixteen. I guess things were just too much for me there. When I saw the state of the villages and the people in this kingdom, I just wanted to help them. The King is a tyrant. He takes everything from them, all their money, and hoards it like a dragon, and if he can't have that, he takes whatever else they own, sometimes their children. I help where I can, try to step in if the King's men take it too far but there's only so much one woman can do. The accusations on the posters aren't true. The King's men made it up so that he has an excuse for arresting and executing me and I think he hopes it'll be enough to turn the people against me. Seems to be working so far," she finished, with a pointed glance at Regina.

"And how do we know you're telling the truth?" Regina asked, not willing to give up on her interrogation just yet.

"You can see for yourself once the King's men are after you. He won't like it when he finds out that Snow White and the Evil Queen are snooping around his kingdom, trying to find their way onto the throne"

Regina visibly flinched and Elena immediately regretted what she'd said. It was too late, however.

"You knew!" the Queen hissed. "How long have you known?"

"Since I heard you call her Snow yesterday morning. You haven't been forgotten, you know. Not even after 28 years. And might I say how well you're holding up, your majesty. You've aged impeccably. Anyone would think the Evil Queen must have been a two year old."

* * *

 _Damn her,_ Regina thought to herself later. _Damn her beautiful eyes and quick tongue._ They had spent literally hours debating what they should do with her, _again_. It seemed to be all they had achieved since arriving and, let's face it, they had more important things to be doing, like returning to their homeland, the whereabouts of which were still unknown to them as they seemed to have strayed into some unfamiliar corner of the realm. Hook had unsurprisingly been in favour of ending her right then although to be fair to him, he did try and justify his suggestion with more than just 'Because I have this random consuming hatred of her'. Luckily, however, Emma had been more in favour of her release. After all, with her past, she had learned to have very little faith in the authorities and besides, this girl seemed decent and secretly she enjoyed how much she infuriated Regina, with whom she continued to not be on the best of terms.

Eventually, the Inner Council, which Elena still couldn't take seriously, it being held in a barn, came to a decision. The Shadow had said that she was on the side of the people and that they respected her. If that were true, then the villagers would stand up for her. If it weren't, and she really was a criminal, they'd tie her up and leave her for the soldiers. Perhaps it was barbaric, but they couldn't stay around babysitting her. They had mission of their own that they had neglected far too long already.

Once in the village, their first port of call was to gain directions to the White Kingdom. Many villagers looked at them strangely and they prayed that they had not been recognised. Most of the people, thankfully, had not strayed out of the village most of their lives, and this realm was far away from where the Evil Queen once resided.

What they did not know was that there was man in the village who had been a soldier. Having travelled to the Queen's kingdom once before, it did not take him long to recognise the woman now as she milled around the centre of the village, watching Elena like a hawk. That was exactly how he watched Regina now, unbeknownst to them.

Meanwhile, Elena was attempting to match the Evil Queen's glares. Among her more suppressed thoughts, she had begun to consider Regina to be fairly sexy. _Only fairly_ , she convinced herself. She had known from the moment she saw her that she was beautiful, classy and of course sassy, but she hadn't quite realised how far she'd been falling over the last day. _Thank God, I managed to catch myself in time,_ she thought.

Regina was having similar thoughts. She had always regarded the girl as pretty, but she had quickly amended that statement to something more close to stunning. She had kept her gaze firmly on her eyes so as to avoid looking in other directions. That, however, turned out to be counterproductive as she found herself totally lost in her emerald orbs. Like Elena, she managed to catch herself just in time before she found herself licking her lips sub-consciously. In an attempt to prevent her total loss of self-control, she began to make a conversation.

"You know that if you stare at someone for a certain time it means you fancy them. Either that or am I to assume this is your unique way of making friends?" _Whoa, ok, she hadn't meant to flirt. What was happening to her?_ Despite this unnerving beginning she elected to maintain the stare. She wasn't going to back down that easy. Meanwhile, Elena's thoughts went something like this: _Holy shit, she's talking to me. What do I say? Shit. Shit. Shit. Think Elena think._

"I could ask you the same thing," she replied, cursing inwardly. What was that supposed to mean? Regina wondered whether she was hearing right. _Was she flirting back or was it my imagination?_ Not sure what to make of it, she decided to press her luck.

"Well then I'd assume you were looking to provoke some sort of reaction," Regina lowered her voice into its more husky tone. What was she doing? Why was she flirting with a potential murderer? This was insane.

"And did I?" asked Elena, raising an eyebrow.

 _Uh-oh,_ thought Regina, _I can't believe she can do the eyebrow thing._ She had always thought it attractive on James Bond, but Elena? This was too much. She glared at the raised eyebrow, willing it to just go away so that she could think clearly. It didn't listen. She couldn't do it. She couldn't stop herself. Slowly she began to bite down on her lip, maintaining the other woman's gaze whilst relieving some of the pressure that was building inside her unsteady lungs. Her heart was pounding like a base drum, each beat like a hammer through her chest. This needed to stop. Now.

* * *

 **And that is the first bit of major flirting. Don't forget to review and give suggestions as to where you would like this to go :)**

 **Thanks for reading**


	5. Chapter 5

Luckily for Regina, their conversation was ended abruptly by the coarse clattering of hooves on the northern road. Like a greyhound from its leash, Elena immediately darted towards cover behind a basket of fruit, completely forgetting that she was supposed to be under guard. Regina saw no other option but to follow her, seeing no opportunity to catch Emma and David's attention. Unaware of the soldiers who were just rounding the bend, the pair were currently quizzing over an improvised map, drawn in the ground by a sharp stick. The former Evil Queen amused herself by imagining them as hopelessly lost tourists in New York, walking around with their backpacks and totally unnecessary walking sticks. She could only hope that the soldiers didn't notice Emma's crimson leather jacket. _A small hope_ , she thought, rolling her eyes. She squeezed in closer to Elena so as to avoid poking out from behind the baskets. That would certainly look suspicious.

"Hey," moaned Elena, "this is my hiding place. Go find your own."

Regina tried not to laugh at how childish she sounded.

"We'd both fit if you didn't have such a massive arse," she retorted. The look she received in return could have soured milk in ten seconds flat.

"Or perhaps if _you_ dropped some of that ego," was her only reply, a little too loudly so that it earned a swift _shhhhhhh._

Through the gaps between baskets, they could just about see riders trotting down the road into the main part of the village. Emma, David and the others appeared to have caught on to what was happening and were trying to back out without attracting attention, but they had no reason to worry because the soldiers stopped and dismounted as they were accosted by a bearded middle-aged man further down the street. However, when the man started directing their attention towards them, they instantly knew something was wrong.

Without really knowing what they were running from, Snow, David, Emma, (dragging Henry with her), Ruby and Hook all emptied from the street, their sub-conscious leading them automatically back the way they had come. Regina and Elena, on the other hand, were stuck and did not dare move a muscle. The soldiers, distracted by the many people who had suddenly emptied from the centre of the village, rode straight past them.

They breathed.

Waiting until the riders were well ahead, Regina grabbed Elena's hand and dragged her forcibly to her feet.

"Come on," she said, "We've got to go after them or they'll be mown down."

"Perhaps if you hadn't taken my weapons I could do something about it," her unwilling companion complained. "Where are they anyway?"

"I left them in the barn," Regina answered but a cloud of purple smoke materialising in her palm told Elena that this was no longer the case. She handed Elena her long, thin sword saying, "I'd better not regret this."

The daring smile Elena flashed her in return made her stomach jump into her throat and she had no idea why.

"Let's go rescue the Charmings," the girl said.

* * *

Henry was hurtling past the corridors of trees, Emma beside him. The empty branches of the conifers appeared as the spindly arms of skeletons, reaching into his path, the stick-like fingers clawing at his hair. He could see Red and Killian about 100 feet away from them, flashing through the forest. Not far now. They could see the ramshackle building in front of them but the muffled clopping of hooves on the earth behind them was growing ever closer and closer until Henry could almost feel the frantic, hot exhalations of the horse's nostrils, blowing down the back of his neck.

Finally, they reached the barn. Everyone else was there ahead of them, waiting. As soon as they were inside, they barricaded the door as well as they could with planks of rotten wood that they found littered around the derelict structure. It wouldn't hold for long.

Henry looked around him to make sure everyone was safe but he couldn't see Regina or Elena. He immediately ran to Emma.

"Mom! Where's other Mom? and Elena?" he shouted up at her in a panic.

Emma too looked around her. She had lost track of them in the village while she was asking directions.

"I'm sure they're fine," Emma tried to reassure her son, "Your mum can take care of herself."

They were interrupted by a tremendous crash at the door to the barn. It sounded as though it had been struck by lightning with such force that the frail walls surrounding them trembled with fear at the impact and the noise.

They were trying to break into the barn.

Everyone grabbed their weapons. Red, not having any, searched for Elena's which she knew had been left in the corner. But they weren't there.

"Elena's weapons have disappeared," she alerted the rest of them.

"It must have been Regina," Snow said.

There was another splintering smash at the door and everyone's attention returned to the caving planks, swords readied, guns loaded, bows strung.

* * *

"There they are!" hissed Elena, pointing at the group of about 10 soldiers dressed in black and silver armour.

"Yes, I can see that!" an agitated Regina snapped back, slapping down her raised arm. "I'll go first and scare the shit out of them with my magic and you go round the back."

"I didn't know you were a strategist," Elena grinned.

"Just do it."

At first sight of the evil Queen, the soldiers, not knowing who she was, merely gripped their swords tighter and smiled maniacally at the approaching woman, taunting her with their toothy grins but she continued to walk forward calmly. When the ball of fire appeared in her palm, however, they took a step back and stared.

Regina sent the burning missile through the air and it burst into a raincloud of scorching remains above their helmets. At this, the soldiers erupted into a scene of panic and confusion as they tried to dodge the descending embers.

* * *

Inside the barn, the occupants could hear the commotion outside and guessed at whom had caused it. They only hoped that Regina would not take it too far. It was not long before they heard the clattering of metal boots scampering away, tails between their legs and Snow, satisfied that the threat was gone, flung the doors open to reveal an amused Elena and a pissed-off Regina. That seemed to be their natural state, Snow thought to herself.

"Mom! You're OK, you rescued us!" an excited Henry leapt forward and embraced her warmly. Regina's irritated look vanished at once as she ran her fingers through her son's hair.

Elena watched them, an unreadable expression on her face.

"Why did they come after us?" Red asked, "We haven't done anything,"

"You must have been recognised in the village. We'll have to travel more carefully in the future." Elena stated flatly.

The group decided that they would have to make their way by foot to their castle in the White Kingdom. They would have to keep as much off the road as they could and only venture into the village for food. It was agreed that Elena should come with them. Now they had seen how quickly the soldiers turned against them, they were willing to rethink their doubts as to The Shadow's story. Red had picked up some food in the village when they had first arrived. She'd meant to get more so there was not much but what they had they shared until each was able to get up and start their journey.

Elena led with David who considered himself the leader of the company. The rest trailed behind, Henry riding Elena's horse, whom he learned was called Jack.

And that is how they left, making at last for their home.


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry for not updating in a while. Laptop had some issues. This chapter is basically all Elena-Regina time. =)**

* * *

They passed a mostly uneventful journey through the forest, dealing with nothing more than a few groups of bandits who had taken to thieving in their desperation. Nevertheless, they eventually reached open ground within a couple of days, signalling what was now half way back to home. Their path had led them up a hill, overlooking a misty exposed landscape with valleys and streams that dipped and dived between the summits. It was here that they lit a fire and drunk in the dramatic landscape like something straight out of a Gothic novel. They toasted bread over a fire and chatted quietly among themselves as the moon watched over them.

Elena stood away from the others. Her companions had known each other for so long and had so much history she supposed she shouldn't be surprised if she was feeling excluded. Still, she wished that in time she could befriend them. She lay down in a patch of grass, a dozen or so metres separating them. She wasn't hungry. Several years of living in a sparsely inhabited forest was all it took to take away her appetite. Instead, she stared at the stars above her and let her thoughts take her.

Henry watched as his thin slice of bread slowly turned brown over the blazing flames. He was strangely entranced by it. Just before the stick it was harpooned on caught the flames he quickly retreated his hand and dropped it onto his conjured plate.

"Perfect!" he smiled satisfied.

Regina looked across at him smiling and marvelling at how he could find such joy in such a simple act, right here among this barren landscape. For her, this openness, this vulnerability, scared her and she longed to be back in the forests again. She couldn't help but feel that their small group stuck out like a black sheep on this hillside, the light of the fire creating shadow puppets on the natural walls around them.

Henry started talking to his birth mother which made Regina scowl. She had long ago accepted that Henry wanted to see Emma but that didn't mean she liked it. What she liked even less was that Captain Guyliner seemed to be becoming a father figure in Henry's life and that scared her. That was something at least that she and Elena agreed on.

Speaking of which. Where was The Shadow? She looked around her scanning the oranged faces of the Charming brigade but she couldn't see the woman. _If she's left us…_ she began to think until she recognised a thin lump on the ground apart from the rest. She watched, hypnotised, as the lump rose and fell with her breathing and Regina thought that, even in the shadows licked up by the fire, she still looked beautiful.

This, of course, she kept to herself.

Elena was currently on the brink of unconsciousness. The point at which she was still awake but the thoughts in her head were a confused muddle of nonsense and reality. She would have drifted off, had a few muffled footsteps behind her not snapped her from her dreaming. She sprang up at once, reaching instinctively for the weapon her back which was not there. The ex-Queen smirked at her.

"Hope I'm not disturbing you."

Elena noticed at once a change in her appearance. Her hair was no longer short and flicked at the end but was long and draped down in a waterfall of waves almost to her waist. She was no longer wearing the odd clothes either but a more familiar outfit of a red dress that cascaded all the way to the ground and was held loosely to her body by a thin band of golden rope.

Regina watched amused as the other brunette soaked in the new look. She allowed her a good long look before clearing her throat. The emerald eyes forcibly dragged themselves upwards to meet the brown ones.

"Did you want something?" Elena asked innocently, the faintest of blushes on her windswept cheeks.

"No not really," came the reply, "merely a respite from watching that pirate corrupting my son," she added with feeling.

"Amen to that. But I shouldn't worry if I were you. I think your son knows a villain when he sees one."

"What…like me?" Regina countered immediately, her anger flaring up inside her. Elena really hadn't meant to suggest anything by her last comment. The truth was she hadn't learnt to be careful about what she said around this woman and she didn't even know the full extent of pain she would cause by it. Regina's reaction caught her totally off-guard.

"No! I didn't mean… No, not like you," she stuttered, surprised by the reaction and attempting desperately to reassure the suddenly defensive woman.

Regina saw the blatant confusion on the girl's face and realised that she didn't know that Henry had spent the latter part of his childhood calling her an evil witch.

She calmed herself down and resumed her usual self-control. She sat down on the grass before her knees gave way after that burst of emotion. She felt the other woman's body sit down beside her and a warmth on her shoulder told her of the presence of a comforting hand. She surprised herself by not tearing herself away from its touch.

"Regina? What was that about?" Elena's tone had softened to one of a solemn compassion that Regina had not thought possible within that carefree light hearted composure. Its effect startled her as she found her walls melting into the earth under the gaze of those emerald orbs. As she relaxed a bit more, she found herself opening up and telling Elena about the events in Storybrooke and how Henry had shied away from her in favour of his birth mother who'd broken the curse and ended her chance at happiness at the same time as turning the whole town against her, the still-breathing Evil Queen because she had taken away their happy endings and committed endless atrocities back in the Dark Kingdom.

Elena merely sat and listened to her pour out her emotions that had been welling up inside her since, well, forever. When the ex-Queen had finished, she watched tentatively as the brunette cupped her head in her hands and just cried, silently. Her companion put her arm around her shoulder, awkwardly at first but they slowly relaxed into it until the Queen let her head droop and rest on the other's shoulder. After a while, Regina raised her head and said in a quiet voice,

"Does it not bother you that they call you 'The Shadow'? It used to bother me that they called me the Evil Queen until I gave in and just became her. The word 'Shadow' doesn't exactly have good connotations."

"Not at all," Elena replied smiling at her. "A shadow, by its very nature, requires light which suggests that there is some hope. Whereas, darkness is just darkness."

"And Evil is just Evil."

"Yes I suppose."

Regina retracted from her ever so slightly.

"You mean there's no hope for me?"

"Yes, if you were evil, which you're not. If you were, you wouldn't be capable of loving Henry the way I know you do. Trust me Regina. I have seen evil and you are not it."

At this, Regina felt her expression soften. It made no sense but at the same time it was all the sense she needed. Perhaps it was only that she needed someone to tell her she wasn't evil. Either way, a weight was lifted from her soldiers.

By the time they stood up, the others had already formed snoring mounds on the grass and the fire was crackling weakly. Regina cast a few protection spells around to ensure the group were not disturbed during the night then she followed Elena's example and curled up as gracefully as she could onto the ground with no worries other than the thought that it might rain.


	7. Chapter 7

It was the next afternoon when they were trudging yet again through the dense boughs of the woodland. Regina much preferred the silence and shelter of the trees. Henry was walking with her and chatting incessantly about what he was going to do when he was king. If she was being honest with herself, Regina didn't like the revelation that Henry would one day be in such a position. She didn't doubt he'd be one of the most just kings the realm had ever seen but she couldn't bear to think of him so exposed and without her to protect him. Henry needed some defence lessons, she decided.

Meanwhile, Emma was trudging along behind her mother and the werewolf watching them chatting about their old days in the forest. It scared her that they had so much history in a world she was only just seeing for the first time and led her to realise just how little she knew of her parents. The journey wasn't so much difficult for the bail bondsperson it was just the boredom. She had ways of entertaining herself when on a stakeout but right now there was nothing to do but reflect on her crappy life. Killian was a nice distraction from that because he was so different, exciting and always changing and she could see that he was more than a little attracted to her. She was musing silently to herself when the pirate approached her.

"You thirsty, love?" he said suavely, thrusting his ever-present flask into her cold hands. She smiled, gratefully accepting the liquid which came as great comfort to her aching limbs.

"You should stop calling me that. People might think we're together," she stated in her matter-of-fact way.

"All the more reason for me to carry on, I say," replied Killian in his self-assured way. He knew that he had the looks and Emma had to admit that he knew how to use them too. Emma knew that he could be a dick sometimes but that didn't stop her feeling a pull towards him, however reluctant she was.

Elena had assumed her customary role as guide and spectator to the weirdly functional family she saw in front of her. She wished she could have had that herself as a child. No. Just a mother and a brother who'd both died. Her father. Well, she didn't count him. He didn't deserve it. Not for what he'd done to Edward. Her hand once again strayed to her wooden necklace as she immersed herself in her past. She was so distracted that the first time David called "AMBUSH" she didn't even register it. The second time was enough to gain her attention and her thoughts dropped to the floor as she grasped at her sword and looked around her.

The first sign of the bandits was an arrow flying into a tree trunk just in front of Prince Charming's head. His lightning quick reactions sparked into life immediately, alerting the others. Regina and Emma both rushed towards Henry and he felt himself being smothered in their protective arms. Once again there was a ring of swords being drawn from their scabbards as the thieves descended upon them in their masks. Elena ran straight towards them and began to knock them back immediately, her blades spiralling around her in fluid movements while her attackers attempted to pinpoint exactly where she was. Still their leader remained in the forest and seemed to be focusing his fire on the Evil Queen who was catching and burning arrow after arrow, not knowing where to hurl her fireballs.

Elena noticed her predicament and hurtled towards the direction of the missiles. She saw him. A man in a long, all-consuming cloak which wrapped itself around him body. He was wearing a dark hood and underneath his face was masked by a scarf of cloth tied around his nose, mouth and chin. Blue eyes sparkled from underneath the clothing.

"The Shadow?" he inquired, instantly recognising her face from the wanted poster.

"Present," Elena answered, inclining her head and approaching him cautiously, one sword poised.

"Stay back!" he said, a hint of uncertainty betraying his otherwise courageous stance. "Stay back or I will shoot. And trust me. I never miss."

That gave him away.

"Oh so it is you Robin," The Shadow teased with a smile, "your vocabulary seems a little limited. Perhaps you should branch out."

As a fellow outlaws, Robin Hood and The Shadow both adorned neighbouring wanted posters, their faces recognisable to any and all. Elena knew that Robin was no enemy. The problem was that he did not know the same of her. He must have seen her walking in the open and thought it might be his only chance to rid the realm of a malicious outlaw. As a sign of ceasefire, Elena sheathed her sword. Robin contemplated before doing the same. Elena rolled her eyes; _always the honourable one_. When his Merry Men, as he called them, saw their leader back down, they all followed until the fighting ceased with nothing more than a few scratches and a couple of broken egos.

"You know each other? Who is he and why shouldn't I burn him to a crisp now?" Regina was instantly on top of the situation, looking at the handsome blond who had now removed those garments that had been concealing his face.

"Robin of Locksley, milady," he said, stretching his hand out to the strangely dressed but pretty-looking brunette. Regina sniffed and winced at the sight of the grubby hand that was extended into her personal space. _Boundaries. Please._

"It's alright. Robin is another outlaw of the King's regime. He doesn't know it yet but we're both on the same side."

"Oh is that so? And why am I to be trusting The Shadow of all people? I steal from the rich and give to the poor. You're a bloody murderer. How can we ever be on the same side?" he questioned endlessly.

"I am not a murderer," Elena defended herself with less bitterness than she felt. "You of all people should know better than to trust whatever King William has to say."

Robin felt his argument deflate a bit at that. Most of the stuff on his wanted poster was just made up too.

"So you've never killed anyone? Or stolen anything?" he pressed.

"Only from the King," Elena confirmed "and I don't kill unless it's necessary."

Robin seemed to accept this.

"Very well then. In that case, we shall be on our way. Carriages don't rob themselves." He motioned to his men.

"Wait," cried Snow, "perhaps you can help us."

Regina looked at her as if to say _What are doing now, crazy woman_ and did her best pout. "And what, my dear Snow, makes you think he can help us?"

"Snow? As in Snow White?" asked Robin but was drowned out by Mary-Margaret's protestations.

"We're going to need as many allies as we can get, Regina, if we're going to take back the kingdom."

Meanwhile David was explaining to Robin. "Yes this is Snow White and I'm Prince Charming and by the way this is the Evil Queen,"

"Look Princess, I'm not going to trust this dirty thief to take back my castle. Unlike you, I have a sense of personal hygiene."

"Regina! I don't care if he smells of toad breath; if he wants to help he's welcome to." Snow

"The Evil Queen! That's her?!" Robin

"Besides, it's not your castle! You took it from my father after you killed him!" Snow

"It's ok. She's not evil anymore." That was Henry joining in.

As if on cue, Regina advanced towards her step-daughter, fists shaking with the magic threatening to break loose.

"He deserved it. He created you," she snarled, a fireball erupting into her palm.

It was coming to blows and Elena, whose neck was aching from the ricochet of arguments, felt like she was glued to the spot. As if watching a marital argument, it was not her place to intervene. Killian did not have this thought.

"Still the same Evil witch I see. Nice to see that under that redemption bravado you haven't changed in the least."

"Killian!" Emma shouted reproachfully but Elena could do one better and kneed him in the groin, sending him painfully to the ground, clutching himself in pain. Regina took a split second out of her cat-fight to appreciate the spectacle before returning her gaze to the white princess who was looking every bit the spoilt princess. It wasn't her fault, Elena decided. Her face was just like that.

Robin was looking very much out of his depth as if he wished there was a way to just vanish noiselessly and Red was standing on the sidelines thinking to herself that it would never end. If David was the kind of man to roll his eyes, he would have done so but luckily he resisted the urge when faced with the childish feuds of his family. It was up to him to intervene.

"Everyone, please, calm down," although it was not a plea but a command and everyone, even snow, hesitated a moment to look at their king. "We are not going to achieve anything by fighting each other over things that happened over 28 years ago."

Even Regina had the decency to look ever so slightly ashamed.

"Snow is right." That was predictable. "We will need as many allies as we can muster if we are to regain this realm. Robin's men are a skilled and adept team and we will need that experience within our ranks. We must all of us put our differences aside and work together if we are to succeed."

It was the classic rousing speech but it nonetheless rang true with the company and they found themselves agreeing. Only one head wasn't nodding. Everyone looked at Regina. There was a silence.

"Fine," she huffed and then, addressing Robin, "Just don't get in my way."

Robin put his hands in the air.

"Wouldn't dream of it," he said and he began to organise his men to retrieve any belongings and necessities they would need for their new quest.

Regina watched him all the while and Elena watched her.


	8. Chapter 8

The White Castle was just as sickeningly beautiful as Regina had remembered. As she approached its fairytale, spiralling turrets she was half expecting a pale imitation of Barbie to come gallivanting out on a white unicorn. Thankfully, no such thing happened. Instead the group were greeted by a deathly silence, as if all the ghosts of their past were watching them, daring them to enter. Charming was the first to enter, gripping his sword to give him courage despite the obvious fact that no one was home.

"After the curse," Elena explained, "the realm emptied completely in the space of a day. When the other kingdom's heard they sought to take advantage and ransacked the castles, taking anything of value that was left behind. Then King William's father took over the Dark Castle and claimed the realm as his own. This castle has long been abandoned."

"Indeed. But I heard that thieves have been known to take up residence here, using it as a hideout," Robin added.

"And you would know." Regina rolled her eyes.

"I assure you, milady, these thieves are of a more malicious nature than I," the thief replied.

"That is beside the point." butted in Snow, "What Robin is saying is that we need to approach with caution."

They pushed the partially closed gates until there was a gap wide enough to bring through Jack, the horse, laden with all their possessions. As they did so, they were forced to cringe at the strangled creaking that crashed into their ear drums. It left an eerie echo in its wake and the feeling of unease did not dissolve. Emma stayed back guarding Henry with her gun which was almost out of ammo and followed closely behind the others. Red, the werewolf had borrowed a sword from Elena and was searching the air with her wolf-enhanced senses for any trace of other intruders. They gradually reached the keep itself where they split up to explore the rooms.

Regina had been allocated the West Wing. It was down here that she had shared a bedroom with Snow's father and the memories of those nights, which had haunted her past life, flooded back to her until she felt her nerves tingle in the wide open, cold and exposed corridors and she felt the hairs prick up on the base of her neck. She stretched out her fingers one by one as she did when she was preparing for a fight. She peered into each room quickly to ensure that they were in fact empty and saw that Elena wasn't lying when she had said how the place had been stripped bare by bandits. The less expensive furnishings were thrown carelessly to the floor in search for more valuable prizes and the valuable furniture, Regina could only assume that someone had turned up with a wagon and carted the lot away. Some rooms were bare entirely so that when Regina entered, her Jimmy Choos, which were shamelessly worn to oblivion and covered in forest, littered the dusty floor with ghostly footprints.

The walking had almost been too much for the ex-Evil Queen. She was used to the hikes but she'd usually wear better shoes and she'd be riding. The pain from her blistered feet had been ignorable at first but after a while it began to grate on her and once she'd searched all the rooms and found nothing but the evidence of rats, she allowed herself the relief of taking off her shoes. Taking no notice of the pain, she returned back to the main hall where the others would no doubt be waiting for her, ready to begin the new and unimproved White Council. She groaned aloud at the thought.

As soon as the sound left her mouth, an arm flung itself round the corner of the corridor and a long curved blade found its way to the side of her neck. Within an instant, she had stifled the cry of surprise that had risen in her throat and instead struck out with her magic, her impulses sending her assailant flying into the wall opposite her. Only then did she realise who it was.

"Miss Giovanni! Just WHAT are you doing here?" she demanded, still shaken from her impulsive use of magic and the fact that she had just flung the girl head first across a corridor. _Oh shit! Did I knock her out? Is she ok? She must be ok. Thank God, her eyes are opening._

The confused eyes fluttered into life, the familiar emerald green like sparks from a lighter. She simply sat there looking dazed and slightly miffed for a while before finally registering the brunette woman in front of her. Regina had ran up to her immediately and was peering at her face as closely as if she was trying to thread a needle.

"Owwwwww," was Elena's only reply as she brought up a hand to check that the back of her head hadn't caved in. Regina was already regretting her initial harshness and tried to make amends.

"Look, I'm sorry, I didn't know it was you. I thought you were a thief," she rambled.

"It's alright. I probably deserved it somehow," Elena assured her, pushing herself onto her shaking legs. For a moment her vision blurred but she kept her feet until the nausea left and she stood facing her attacker. "We should get back to the others. You took a while so they were worried you'd ran into trouble."

"No, I was just being thorough." Regina dusted herself, looking at the floor as she did when she was feeling awkward. She noticed that her companion was looking a little unsteady and placed a hand on her arm in support. "Come on. Wouldn't want another episode of 'I will find you' with the Charmings."

Elena didn't understand the reference but the skin under her arm bristled at the contact on her arm. Why was she reacting like this? Perhaps it was the cold, she convinced herself. She should have just thrown the offered arm away and gone on stubbornly alone but she didn't have the heart. Her heart. It was racing. Racing like the hooves of a stallion in mid-gallop trampling over her fragile bones. It was ok. _Breathe._ It was alright. _Breathe._ This was normal. She's just been frightened. That's all. But the pounding didn't go away.

Freaked out, she wrenched herself from Regina's grasp violently. The woman was pulled with her and stumbled, catching herself on the wall just in time, unable to support herself entirely on her feet which were red and threatening to bleed from the ugly sores that festered over the skin. Elena noticed the other woman's injuries for the first time and reacted immediately, pushing her own shoulder under Regina's to try and take some of her body-weight.

"Oh my God. Regina are you alright? How long have your feet been like that?"

Regina accepted the help reluctantly. She didn't like to show her weakness but she was so touched by those eyes looking so openly into hers with such concern in them that she couldn't summon the will to push her away. Pride be damned. It frickin hurt.

"Well. Jimmy Choos aren't the best walking shoes, Miss Giovanni."

"No shit. Why didn't you say anything before?" Elena asked as they limped slowly together painfully down the corridor towards the main hall, although she figured she already knew the answer. For Regina, the ex-Evil Queen, appearances were everything. It was the only way to properly manipulate your enemies and your friends.

"Unlike some, I don't like to inflict my discomfort on everyone else," was her explanation. Elena wasn't fooled but she laughed openly at the pointed comment. She received a glare and a "What?" in return.

"And who is the offending party, your Majesty?" Elena inquired sarcastically, although it came out lower than she was expecting. This did very strange things to Regina's body and she felt her insides melting and pooling in her lower body.

 _This has to stop._

Regina closed herself off and didn't offer an answer. Instead she struggled for more independence from Elena who still maintained a deceptively tight grip on her arm. When they got the hall they found the others sitting oblivious round a large circular table which they had used before the curse for all their important council meetings. Everyone felt and looked important, including the Merry Men who looked ever so slightly ridiculous in their forest garments, surrounded in such a grand building; like children playing at princes and princesses.

Regina quickly put on her shoes and they both walked in together, masking any kind of pain they must have been feeling as a result of their escapades. The council turned to meet them, Snow White looking every bit the condescending host as she motioned for them to sit down which Regina was more than happy to do. The relief was immeasurable and she thought she might have caught a glance from Elena from across the table. Her stomach fluttered. What was she? A schoolgirl?

 _This definitely had to stop. Starting now._

Robin smiled at her from his seat behind her and asked if she was alright and if she had run into any trouble. She gave him her most winning smile and assured him that she was very well thankyou and no she'd hadn't heard a sound from the West Wing. The smile he gave her in return cheered her up ever so slightly and she eventually applied herself to the matter at hand.

"Now that we are all here," began David, standing from his seat, although it wasn't entirely true because Henry was playing with Roland, whom Regina had later discovered to be Robin's son, with Emma, who'd taken little or no interest in the proceedings, in her old, unused nursery. "Now that we are all here, I think we should begin. We have made it home at last and it only remains that we must find a way to restore our rule and dethrone the current King, William, whom we have agreed is unfit to hold his position."

"That is an understatement," Elena interrupted, unable to take anything seriously.

"Whom we have agreed is unfit to hold his position." Prince David repeated, allowing no annoyance to show in his voice. "Therefore, our first priority should be to strengthen our position here where we have a castle and can gather people and resources for the battle ahead."

"Battle? You are proposing a war?" asked Robin who was not accustomed to full-scale warfare.

"I meant the term figuratively but I cannot see that there is another way. The King is not likely to give up his title just because we ask him to."

"He will not," Elena put in. "He would not give up his power or his wealth for the world, certainly not because some people from the past turn up claiming to be Snow White and Prince Charming. As far as they are concerned you are trapped in another realm, never to return and that's how he'll want it to stay."

"And perhaps we should talk about your right to the throne," added Regina. "They are in the Dark Castle which I seem to remember was the fortress _I_ built myself when _I_ was Queen."

"You think that the people would ever want to be ruled under you?" Snow asked, aghast. "Really Regina, you cannot think for once that you could ever hope to regain your title after what you did. Besides, you stole the crown from my father. I was the rightful heir."

"You're both wrong," Elena said, rolling her eyes. Regina glared at her as if she hoped the irritating girl would just melt in her seat.

"Oh please, outlaw, do enlighten us as to how the politics of the realm functions," she snapped.

"Well, _your Majesty_ ," and there was the same inflection again which made the brunette sit up ever so slightly straighter in her seat, "Snow White ruled the White Kingdom and Regina ruled the Dark Kingdom. The kingdom that currently exists is neither of those. Hence, neither of you have any more right to the throne than the next person."

She waited for her point to sink in. The others thought for a moment, considering the possibility that the world had in fact moved on so fast after their absence.

"And I thought Rumpelstiltskin was the king of loopholes," Red murmured, grudgingly.

"Whether it is _technically_ the same kingdom or not is neither here nor there. The people will have heard of the reign of Snow White and they will surely support us and fight against a king that has done nothing to help their declining situation." Snow said, remaining hopeful. "That is why we cannot allow Regina to rule. Nobody would support the Evil Queen."

"So I am expected to leave this land in the incapable hands of the Charming family circus?" Regina retorted. "I don't think so. I have far more experience with ruling than you do. The only reason it didn't work in the people's favour before is because I honestly didn't care about them."

Captain Hook gave a half smile. "Oh, well. That's very reassuring."

"But now she does, I think was her point, dimwit," Robin countered giving a supportive glance to Regina at the same time. It was so sweet of him to defend the Evil Queen when they had talked very little since meeting when Regina had been less than friendly. She found his trust and loyalty fairly endearing.

"Exactly." Regina nodded. "What's the point in fighting over this kingdom if only to fail it in the same way that this 'King William' has."

"Listen to yourselves, all of you," Prince Charming implored, "It doesn't matter for now who rules the kingdom if we cannot take it back in the first place. The people need to be our first priority. We need to muster our forces, find people who are willing to fight for us, discover the enemy's weakness."

"Agreed," said Elena, "and that's where I can help you." Everyone turned their attention to the petite figure of the smiling girl leaning nonchalantly back in her chair, one leg lying casually in her lap. "King William's greatest weakness is his greed. If he thinks there is money to be gained, no amount of danger is too great, as long as it's his soldier's lives he's risking."

"So what's your suggestion genius?" asked Hook, daring her reply.

Elena steadily held his gaze, outwardly a calm and collected thinker but inwardly panicking because she hadn't the least idea of any plan. It was ok when she was alone in the forest and had only herself to rely on. Then she could rely on her instincts, her impulses to get her out of harms way. Elena did not plan.

Her gaze finally wavered and she looked at her hands, inspecting the dirt under her fingernails.

"Let's say I'm working on it," she said finally.

Hook smiled in triumph, as if to say 'thought as much' until the moment was thankfully interrupted by David who called for us all to reconvene and continue the discussion later. For now, he said, they must focus on settling into the castle for the long term.


	9. Chapter 9

**Yet another chapter. Yay! Its my longest yet probably because it got a bit dramatic and I got carried away ;)**

* * *

Elena spent the next night trying to come up with any kind of plan which could help them take back an entire kingdom with not so much as an army. How many of them were there in total? 20? No less than that. She had never had any sort of designs of this scale before. Her only intention was to disrupt the nefarious plans of the king and keep as many of the peoples' heads above water as she could even if they didn't know that it was her that had left the basket of food at their door. Many of her generous acts were attributed to Robin Hood's men; yet another reason to dislike him. It wasn't as if he had done anything wrong. The man was just irritating.

So far her thinking had come to this: in order to take over a whole kingdom, you have to cut the head of the beast. This particular beast being King William himself. If they could force his surrender, get to him first, they could avoid any fight at all. There was no question that this would have to be an operation of stealth and not strength. That was ok. Their team consisted of a lot of talented individuals who could hold their own in a fight. Perhaps it wasn't entirely hopeless.

When the council reconvened, Hook wasted no time in asking, with a raised eyebrow, what this brilliant plan of hers was. Elena explained her thoughts to everyone and it seemed to be generally accepted even though there was no particular genius to it. The only thing was, there was no clear plan of operation. For that, everyone would have to have an input. The company would all need to need their individual skills whether that be archery, close combat, magic, the ability to turn into a werewolf, or just plain courage; they'd need every ounce of it. The strike team would consist of the Charmings, including Emma, Hook, Red, Regina, Robin, a couple of the more formidable Merry Men and Elena. Henry and Roland would stay back at the castle with the rest of Robin's band and hide out in the castle until the others returned.

The plan was set for the next morning so everyone spent the rest of the day preparing supplies and organising themselves, going through the plan over and over again until they could probably recite it backwards. Finally, Elena collapsed into her bed in one of the many spare rooms of the White Castle, wanting to get some good sleep before tomorrow which would most probably be one hell of a day. It would take a day to walk to the Dark Castle and under the cover of night, most likely asleep on their feet, they would start their silent assault of the parapets and pray that they would all come out alive.

Sleep did not come easily to her that night. She was worried. Worried that she'd lose this new family she had encountered. They might not consider her family, but after almost a week, she felt as if she'd known them for so long. Perhaps it was because there was so much history between them all that they were no longer afraid of showing their true colours. They already knew the best and worst of each other. And that's what made Elena feel like an outcast. They didn't know her, her best or her worst. Perhaps it was only right that the end should come so soon. _This time tomorrow_ , she thought. _This time tomorrow, they'll know me._

On the other side of the castle, Regina was in Henry's room, kissing her son goodnight. _It might be the last time. I might never see him again,_ she thought, before berating herself. No. She mustn't think like that. She'd survive this because she always did. She was a survivor and could fight through anything to get back to her son.

* * *

"Night, Mom," the sleepy voice of Henry mumbled from under the covers. She smiled in return and replied in her warmest voice,

"Goodnight, Henry," before walking towards the door, turning her head round to see the soft, fluffy mess of brown hair sticking out from under the covers.

When she reached the door and opened it carefully, she certainly wasn't expecting the scorching heatwave that screamed at her when confronted with the corridor. There was a faint smoke in the air and as she peered around the corner, eyes wide, she saw the tell-tale glow of orange on the walls of the far end of the corridor. Fire.

"Fire!" she shouted at the top her voice but then, to compensate, ended up breathing some of the wafting smoke that hung in the air and began to choke violently.

"Mom!?" cried Henry. He leapt quickly out of bed and hugged her, looking up into her eyes with his golden brown ones as if to ascertain that all would be ok, that it was just a nightmare. All Regina could think in that moment was that she had to comfort Henry and get him our safely.

She knelt down to his height and looked deeply into his eyes.

"It's ok, sweetheart. It's going to be alright, I promise."

She grabbed his hand firmly and purple smoke engulfed them.

They appeared at the entrance to the castle and immediately noticed a dozen or so horses tied up around the small courtyard. The king's men were here. One man had stayed behind to guard the mounts and when he spotted them, advanced drawing his sword. Regina didn't want to revert to her Evil Queen ways but now she really had no choice. A fireball sent him flying backwards in a smoking heap.

"MOM!" shouted Henry, horrified at watching his mother kill someone.

"I-I'm sorry Henry. I had no choice. He was going to hurt you. I couldn't leave him," the Evil Queen stammered, a tear on her cheek, frantically searching for a sign of forgiveness on her beloved sons face.

"You didn't have to kill him. That's what villains do. You're being a villain," Henry was crying in his righteous and broken way.

"No. Please. Henry, I'm not."

"You are. The others are dying in there. If you were a hero, you'd save them." Regina looked again at the burning palace. The white walls of the castle were burning red and orange with all the fury of angry flames, consuming it with a passion unequalled by anything Regina had ever seen. But still she steeled herself and, placing a concealing spell on Henry and telling him to hide, disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

* * *

The Shadow had first thought something was off when she found herself overheating drastically under her thin duvet. It was not as though she was wearing thick night clothes and it was very cold at this time of year. Then she saw a flickering coming from behind her thin white curtains and drew them back to see it was. She immediately saw the flames licking up the castle walls and dove straight to her wardrobe. Ok. So maybe it wasn't the best move but she wasn't going to abandon her few sets of clothes to be burnt to a crisp just because some idiot knocked a candle over. She bet it was Emma. She rolled her eyes.

Once she had hopped around getting her clothes on in a rush, she grabbed her possessions into her usual bag and made a dash out of the ruin. Perhaps it was selfish of her but she didn't even think of the others in her panic to get out. She was so used to only having to worry about herself that it didn't hit her until she reached the stairs and heard someone screaming from the other side of a door.

"Who is that?" she called through the constant roaring of flames close by. She tried the door. It was locked.

"It's me, Hook."

How kind fate was, she thought with a ghost of a smile but now was not the time nor the place. No matter who he was, she had to try to get him out.

"Okay. Can't you open the door?"

"I can't reach it. I'm trapped," was the reply. He even sounded frightened. He was a man used to freedom and the sea, confined within a flaming room, out of his element, quite literally. Elena understood at once.

"Okay. I'm gonna try and break down the door. If any part of you whatsoever is near the door, get it out the way," she replied to him, trying to sound calm. _Although, his head could do with a few knocks,_ she thought to herself. She took her sword and started slashing at the door around the handle until the wood splintered and gave in and she was able to slide open the lock and fling the door open. She immediately saw Hook lying on the floor in front of her. The floor above had given way and fallen onto him in a mass of debris, his hands, (or hand) stuck in such a position that he could not use them to relieve the weight. He must have been feeling a lot more pain than he let show in his voice and just then, the bandit felt a glimmer of respect for the pirate.

She managed to clear some of the lighter debris away from him on her own, freeing up more of his space and allowing them, in a combined effort, to heave off the heavier pieces of timber. His face was cut and his legs and arms bruised but he could stand and that was enough.

"You need to get out," Elena told him.

"What about the others. Do they even know what's happening?"

Elena felt a rush of regret that she may have misjudged him. It seems he did care about the others after all.

"Okay. You take Emma, Red and the Charmings. I'll take Robin and Roland, Regina and Henry," she commanded, instantly in control. This instinct, this action, it was what she was made for.

"What about the Merry Men?" asked Killian. Elena looked blank.

"Uhhhhhhhhmm," she shrugged, "Pick 'em up as we go?"

Killian nodded his assent. It was the best they could. They went their separate ways, Elena towards the East Wing and Killian into the West.

* * *

The purple column of smoke solidified into the form of Regina in the middle of the West Wing corridor. Who to start with, the Charming family? The Werewolf? Emma? Yes, it had to be the Saviour. Henry's mother must live, she decided. She ran to where she thought Emma had said was her room. Along the way, she met a couple of the King's knights. She couldn't bring herself to kill them after what Henry had said so she flung them against the world, knocking them out. If they burnt in the fire, they'd brought it on themselves, she thought. However, when she reached Emma's door, it had already been burst open. No sooner had she reached it she saw Hook's figure carrying a limp blonde over his shoulder. Of course that filthy pirate _would_ try to steal her heroic moment.

"Hook?"

"Regina!" he said in surprise. "Did Elena send you?"

Regina's heart suddenly bumped a bit harder at the mention of the name but she hardly noticed during the heat of the moment.

"Elena? No. I haven't seen her."

"She went into the East Wing to get you, Henry and Robin out," he rested the unconscious Saviour against the wall. "Can you poof Emma out of here?"

Regina would have rolled her eyes had the situation not been so serious. _Of course she could_. She waved a hand casually and Emma's form vanished in a cloud.

"Good. Right," Hook said awkwardly, staring at where she'd just vanished. "I'll go and get the others."

He began to run down the corridor but was stopped short as David, Mary-Margaret and a choking Ruby charged round the corner.

"Hook?" They all exclaimed at once. Regina couldn't take a moment more of this slapstick soap opera.

"Get them out of here! I'll follow. And be careful, the King's knights are prowling around. It was them who started the fire," and with no other explanation she poofed away leaving the startled group.

* * *

The flames were worse in the East Wing. The fire must have started somewhere nearby. As Elena rushed through the corridors, her possessions swinging at her side and her sword in her arm. She heard voices up ahead. Regina? No. It was a male voice. Robin? The tapestries and furniture around her were alight, forming a tunnel of fire through which she could only run and hope for the best. As she turned a sharp corner, she immediately saw whose the voices had been. Soldiers. She drew her sword and, in a flurry of metal, cast them to the floor and continued, unimpeded to the first door. The heat was almost unbearable and she had no idea how she was going to get out, even if she did manage to find the others.

"Regina? Henry? Robin? Roland? Are you there?" she cried as loud as her smoke-filled lungs would allow her.

No reply. On to the next door.

"Regina? Henry?"

Still nothing. Keep going.

"Regina?!"

She paused here, thinking she heard a muffled reply.

"Daddy?"

It was Roland. She tried the door. It was unlocked but jammed.

"Roland. Hey. Roland, can you here me? It's Elena. I'm gonna help get you out, ok?" She stopped sheath her sword.

"Ewena," came a choking reply. He wasn't crying or screaming. He was just scared and despite herself the girl was proud on Robin's behalf.

"You're being really brave Roland," she said softly, and it was true, "This is going to be loud, ok? But I don't want you to be scared because I need to get through this door so that I can get you out."

It felt like the flames of the corridor where whips on her back but she focused all her strength on the door in front of her and slammed her entire body weight into it not once, not twice but three times before it finally crashed open and she stumbled into the room to see the little boy standing in the least hot and fire-ridden corner of the room. Just then she heard a voice from behind her.

"Roland! Roland!" It was Robin.

He came around the corner and saw them, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Roland. Thank god you're ok. I saw the door was open and thought it was the soldiers. I feared the worst."

"We need to get out of here." Elena stated the obvious but as she said it more soldiers came around the corner. Even in this burning hellhole they still stuck to their duty. Elena opened the window to let the smoke out and saw that there was a line of thick ivy snaking down the walls. _Classic,_ she thought. If they could climb down they might be able to escape. She told Robin.

"You go. Take Roland and I'll follow."

Elena couldn't argue. There wasn't time and she felt that with her athletic ability she had more chance of getting Roland away out of the window than Robin did.

"Roland, honey," she said in her sweetest voice, "I need you to get on my back."

"Like a piggy-back?" the child asked.

"Yes. Yes. Like a piggy-back," she replied, smiling at how adorable he was, even now. "Can you do that?"

Roland nodded and jumped onto her back with a little help from Elena. Robin had already engaged the first of the soldiers. Their time was running out.

"Hold on dear," she said before swinging herself onto the ivy, hoping that it would support their combined weight. Luckily, they weren't heavy and the ivy held. As she clambered down the ivy as fast as she could, she heard the clattering of swords, then a sharp glow of orange, then silence. She swallowed, and continued to bear the child safely to the ground. She didn't even notice the tears rolling down her face.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading all the way to chapter 9! and please review.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Just a short chapter this time to tie up a few loose ends and explain the timeline of what was happening during the fire according to Henry. We'll get into the more exciting stuff next chapter hopefully**

* * *

"Mom! Wait! Come back," Henry shouted at the swirl of purple smoke, but Regina had already vanished. It was too late. What had he done? He'd sent her back into a burning building, resounding with the cracking splintering of floorboards and shattering of glass amidst the endless crackling of the fire. What if she never came out again and his last words to her were condemning her as a villain? He had told her to be a hero and now he was standing there hiding whilst his family were trapped inside.

Then, through the noise pounding in his head, he heard the desperate whinnying of a horse. It was coming from the stables on the opposite side of the courtyard and Henry knew immediately who it was. Jack. In the commotion, he had completely forgotten about his newfound companion whom he had learned to ride on his journey. He couldn't do anything fancy, just walking and trotting but Elena had promised to teach him to ride properly when it was all over. From that moment. Henry had loved that big-hearted stallion utterly and became devoted to him, feeding him valuable rations while his moms weren't looking, though he could have sworn Elena had noticed. But now in the crisis, he'd totally abandoned his new friend.

"Don't worry, buddy, I'm coming for you," he thought. He would have to trust his family to make it out alive. But that was ok. He was the truest believer and he was sure they'd all help each other to survive because that was what they did. What they'd always done.

He sneaked across the courtyard cautiously. The concealment spell his mother had cast on him did not make him invisible. That was very difficult magic and not something she could do on the spur of the moment. But, it did muffle his movements and the guards had mostly gone inside so that it was not hard to sneak around the horses and keep out of sight until he found the other side. The thatch of the stable roof was on fire and a huge pillar of smoke was rising, but the wood itself had not yet caught and he could only thank his luck for that. The black stallion was now in a tremendous panic at seeing and feeling the flames above him and was thrashing about violently.

Henry had no clue what to do with a spooked horse. He tried to sooth it with his voice but if the horse heard him it had no effect. The flames had started to lick the beams now so Henry would have to let the horse out quickly if it wasn't going to choke or burn to death. He reached for the stiff bolt and heaved it with all his young strength, eventually rewarded by a metallic SNAP as it quickly drew back. The sudden release caused him to be thrown sideways with the force. This was fortunate, for as soon as the gate opened, the horse charged through instinctively into the clear air and would have trampled Henry had he not be flung aside.

His mission a success, Henry returned to his original hiding place only to find his birth mother sprawled on the ground, a mass of red leather and blonde curls. He ran up to her immediately and shook her violently, waiting for any response at all.

"Emma! Emma!" he called out again and again, until at last he thought he saw the eyelids twitching a little and a confused voice mumbling, "Fire…Killian…Regina." Henry took this as a sign that his birth mother was alright and let out a sigh of relief.

After a few minutes passed, Henry had sat cradling his mother's head in his lap and murmuring assurances into her ear as his other mom had done to him when he was hurt. All of a sudden, he heard voices and footsteps coming from the front of the castle and drew back further into his hiding spot for fear that it might be the soldiers. However, he quickly recognised the high-pitched tones of his grandmother and called to them. With her was Charming, Killian, Red and a few of the Merry Men they'd found along the way.

"What's happening in there? Have you seen my mom? Is she alright?" he asked all in one breath.

"Oh, Emma!" Snow White cried and fell to child's side, crying her name and attempting to get a response as Henry had.

"Regina said she was going to follow us," the pirate answered Henry and at the boy's worried face he added, "Don't worry, lad. Your mother can take care of herself."

"She certainly can," a familiarly husky voice said behind them, made even deeper by the inhaled smoke, a pale whisper of purple still hanging in the air. Beside her was the limp body of a man, Robin. David and Hook immediately rushed to support the man who was almost unconscious from his ordeal. He had sustained a couple of minor wounds from his skirmish with the guards but pretty soon after Elena and Roland had left, Regina had turned up and helped him finish off the rest of them before flicking her wrist and transporting them back to the rest of them.

"Now, if you will excuse me," The Queen continued, "I need to get the others out," she turned to go but was interrupted by Robin spluttering at her side.

"Wait. No. Elena with Roland…They're…ok." The man was clearly in pain but Regina was so distracted by a tsunami of relief that flooded over her when she heard that Elena and the child had escaped safely, she momentarily forgot that she had magic with which she could heal him. It was a good thing the two of them were out of danger because healing Robin's wounds exhausted the last crumbs of energy within her and she sunk heavily to the floor, still conscious, but more vulnerable than she would have liked.

It felt like an age before the last pair of their company turned round the corner of one of the turrets on the far side of the cobbled courtyard. More than once the group had started to wonder if the worst had happened but the hopeful side of the family would reassure them every thirty seconds that "of course they were alright" which only made it more unsettling. When at last the tear-stained face of Elena could be seen next to the bewildered one of Roland did they dare to breathe again. They'd made it. Even the Merry Men, who weren't acquainted with castles, fire and danger in quite the same way as the other fairytale characters, were all there, beaten and bruised, but alive.

The union was far from sweet, the main feeling being relief. They were all bruised and battered and the escape was far from a victory. Elena looked around at the company. Roland was reunited with his father, whom Elena was much surprised to find alive. The surprise was lessened when she found that it been the Evil Queen's doing, who was now sitting with her back to a wall, almost in a sleep. For her heroism Elena felt both jealousy and respect in equal amounts.

As for the others: the Charmings were in their family huddle, Emma having regained some more of her consciousness. _A great help she'd been_ , Elena thought. Hook was watching them in a way which was not entirely creepy and Red was looking at Robin and Roland's reunion with the Merry Men, a smile on her face. And as for Jack, her beloved mount, Henry had told her how he'd rescued him and she'd summoned him with a sharp whistle. Yes, they were all together and safe, but their base was ruined and they were all exhausted from their exertions. What was this going to mean for her plans?"

After a long half-hour of almost sleep, the more energetic among them set out to build shelters out in the woods. It must have been early morning before they were finally able to rest, leaving behind the smouldering ruins of the soot-black White Castle. Their sleeping arrangements were far from perfect after the luxurious, if a little over-fluffy, beds of the Palace. Finally, though, they were all allowed the great comfort of sleep. That night, nobody had enough energy to think about protection as they fell into a deep sleep under the forest canopy, aware that in the morning, they'd begin their journey towards their final goal, the Dark Castle.


	11. Chapter 11

When at last the provisions and supplies were packed the next day, they began the final part of their journey towards the Dark Castle. They were still in the forest, but as they crept further into the Dark Kingdom, the trees seemed to gather closer in around them, stifling them with their leafy forest until it almost resembled the humid claustrophobia of a rainforest. It was, as they agreed, to be an operation of stealth and skill rather than that of brute force. Although many of them were good fighters, they were outnumbered at least several hundred to one, and no one, not even Regina, fancied their chances in that battle. Not only that, but now there was no safe place for Henry and Roland to stay out of the way and they didn't know that they could trust anyone to look after them. Regina wasn't about to let their son embark on a secret mission to take back the kingdom, however much he might want to.

Regina's gaze was fixed steadily on her son for the most part of the journey, walking beside Emma ahead as she pondered this conundrum. They had no friends left in the forest. The Evil Queen had had allies but none that she considered suitable for childminding and all those she had known were transported via the curse into Storybrooke. She couldn't bring or leave him and in the end was regretting her decision to take him into the Enchanted Forest in the first place. Storybrooke wasn't the safest place but at least there weren't any full on battles. Well, not often.

Before dusk, they within sight of the Dark Castle, in all its black imposing magnificence. Elena, who knew it so well, was struck with the thought that the woman who built it all that time ago, was now right beside her. They halted about three miles from the castle walls and Elena guided them to a sheltered and abandoned house a hundred or so yards from the road. Concealed from any passers-by and within a good distance from their goal, it was the perfect place to gather themselves for the fight ahead. It seemed impossible to Emma that this very evening they would either have their home back or be at the mercy of the unjust King. She had to admit that the odds were not looking good.

First and most importantly, though, it was time to eat. Red took the bags down from Jack's side and began to search the contents with interest, her senses telling her that there was something good to be purloined. The soldiers that had attacked them at the White Castle had had some provisions which they had taken and Snow had done some hunting on the way giving them fresh meat for some stew. For the travellers, a bowl of anything hot would have sufficed. It was Elena that sat by the pot and occasionally stirred it, her stomach grumbling reproachfully at the comforting smell wafting from within. As soon as it was reasonably heated and cooked, she poured it out into wooden bowls, passing them round as each of them coveted their precious rations.

Once they'd eaten and rallied their spirits sufficiently, David began his pep talk. As he rose to his feet, his chest puffed out in the manner he was prone to when about to speak publicly. Regina rolled her eyes with his predictability and Snow instantly looked up at him, giving him her fullest attention.

"So, as you know, we are to make our move tonight on the enemy castle," he began. Regina supressed another eye-roll deciding that she should limit them to only the most deserving situations. "We shall need everyone to be behind this operation," he continued, "to the best of their abilities and with all the courage that they can possibly muster. The plan is this. We shall infiltrate the castle under cover of darkness using the surrounding forest to sneak up to their walls and climb them. We shall need to reach the King in person before attracting any unwelcome attention from the many guards that will doubtless be scattered over the castle. Regina," he suddenly announced her name. Regina awoke from her daze with a start and quickly lifted her eyes from where they had been resting on the back of Elena's head.

"Yes?" she said in acknowledgment.

"You know the castle best of all of us and shall therefore take the lead. Hopefully we shall be able to make it to the king together but if needs must we might have to split up. Do you know where the king is mostly to be?"

"Sorry but I left the Marauders Map in Storybrooke, how could I possibly know that?" Regina replied unhelpfully in her _you imbecile_ tone.

" _Regina_ ," Snow piped up, "We are trying to conduct a serious operation here. If you are not going to participate constructively then why are you here?"

Henry stifled a snigger as he thought how much she sounded like the primary school teacher Regina had made her into. Perhaps his mother really had known what she was doing when she was casting that curse. The Evil Queen heard her son's supressed snort and glanced at him reproachfully. Emma decided to take the reins of this conversation.

"Where he is going to be depends on what time we reach the castle. If it's late enough he'll be in his bedroom …. or bedchamber or whatever it is …. early enough he might be eating or, I dunno, in the library? What do you do to pass the time in these castles?"

"Well, we'll just have to find out when we get there," concluded Charming.

"Wait," interrupted Killian, "I don't like the idea of charging in without a plan."

"Oh, I do," said Elena. "And we do have a plan. It's just not a very good one."

Snow opened her mouth to contest this point, then closed it again. Robin stepped in.

"What about Roland and Henry?" he asked, voicing the same concern that Regina and Emma had been worrying about over their journey. "We can't take them with us."

Elena had given this some thought. She had an old friend in a nearby village that could definitely be trusted to look after them. She just needed to convince her companions to entrust their children to a complete stranger.

"I know someone. A woman from the village near here. She would gladly look after Henry and Roland… if you agree."

"You expect me to hand over my son to a complete stranger?" asked Regina, incredulous, as was predicted. Elena turned round to meet her challenging stare and faltered at the insecurity on the other woman's face. Of course. She understood. Henry was the only thing that Regina had left and the only person she really cared about, really loved. To entrust him to someone she had never met before, in a land he'd never been before, must, for her, seem like complete madness.

"No, you're right. It's stupid," she gave in, turning back around and racking her brains for another option.

"Who is it?" asked Robin, which caused Regina to instantaneously swivel and glare at him.

"You can't seriously be considering this," she accused him. _What, were all these people insane?_ She thought to herself. "We can't trust some random stranger."

"You don't have to. I trust her," Elena tried again.

Regina looked as if she was about to explode, and knowing the unpredictability of magic, it wasn't out of the question. Luckily, before anything was broken, she made an effort to swallow her fury.

"Miss Giovanni," she said in her sweetest voice, "May I ask you to step outside for a minute?"

At this, she didn't even wait to receive an answer before opening the door and stepping outside, holding he door open in expectation. As if automatically, Elena stood from her seat and walked timidly towards the offered exit. On the way out, she glanced at Henry who wore an expression that clearly read, _you're in for it now_.

Stepping out into the cool breeze of the evening, Elena was thankful for the light pattering of raindrops on her skull making her feel alive to the world around her. She was pretty sure these would be her last moments on this earth. She followed Regina until the brunette stopped a little distance from the house and turned on her heel to face her adversary with a look that emitted pure enmity. When she didn't speak, Elena took the initiative, wanting, much like a five year old, to get this over quickly.

"Why are we outside?" she asked in a small voice.

"So that Henry doesn't have to watch while I rip your heart out and squeezed it to dust in front of you," Regina replied in her Evil Queen voice, her hand echoing the actions she described.


	12. Chapter 12

**Enter the King**

* * *

King William was perched on his favourite seat in the castle enjoying a glass of wine whilst watching his servants racing about him. It was a cavernous chair to suit his oversized body and his stubby, porky legs hung over the edge, just scraping the floor below him. Overall, it gave him the appearance of a spoilt, fat toddler sitting in a high chair and awaiting his next meal. He was positioned in his favourite area of the castle, that grand bowed balcony overlooking the courtyard below where the Queen herself used to strut around in her high-heeled boots and daring dresses. He smiled to himself as he contemplated the date of the wine bottle beside him. 31 years ago, put aside by that very same queen. Could it be true that she was even now in his kingdom?

He leaned back into the back is the chair in a leisurely fashion, stretching his toes out in front of him, amusing himself with an image of her demise. What tales they might tell of him, the man who defeated and killed the Evil Queen at last. He couldn't wait to see her corpse in front of him and show the world who was really king. Soon, he told himself. Soon.

Whilst he revelled in these thoughts, a messenger entered behind him. He was out of breath and had clearly been sent in a hurry, his face panicked and nervous.

"Your…Your Majesty," he puffed. The hesitation evident in his voice was a confusion of fear and exhaustion as he stood awkwardly in the doorway awaiting permission to speak. The King languidly rolled his eyes in his skull until they met with the quivering ones of the owner of the small voice.

"Why is it," he drawled in a voice that hardly be heard over his wheezy breathing, "that I can't have one moments peace to myself? You people just keep _bothering_ me, with this, and that," he indicated these two culprits with his pasty hands, "A king needs his beauty sleep, you know?" he ended with a look that was meant to inspire sympathy.

"Y-Yes sir," the messenger agreed quickly, "only you made it very clear I should alert you immediately of any news concerning the quee-"

"NOT…" the king interrupted impatiently, "the queen." He shuffled around in his seat to gain a better vantage point in his armchair. "I am the king. Everyone does what _I_ say."

"Of course, sir. You are my king. Of cour-"

"Yes, whatever. Just tell me why you are here so that I can spend the rest of the morning in peace," he said, waving his hand dismissively in the man's direction. "I assume you've come to tell me that she and all her disgusting little vagabonds that call themselves royals have been executed accordingly."

"N-not quite, your majesty,"

The King's neck snapped around with a surprising show of force, the folds of his skin curling around each other as he turned towards the messenger.

"The fire didn't work," the trembling man continued.

The king's show of energy after this remark was quite incredible. He hauled himself to his stubby feet using all the strength in his limbs and leaning heavily on the arm of his chair.

"No, no, no," he shook his head, beginning to stomp over to where another servant held a tray of many various alcoholic beverages. He clutched at one at random and poured it down his gullet in a practised manner.

"You!" He pointed his finger at the messenger, "tell the captain of my guard that he's failed me one too many times." His grumpy voice was wheezing even more now so that each syllable had to be interposed by a desperate inhalation of air. "I want him executed by this evening or else I shall personally knock his head off myself!"

The messenger cunningly masked his face into one that wouldn't show doubt of the accomplishment of such a feat.

"And you!" he now turned his index finger to another soldier dressed in the black uniform of the palace guards, "You've been promoted. Now," his voice, which could not reach a higher volume due to the incessant hissing of his breath, rose in pitch for the last sentence," Go and get that fucking woman and bring her to me dead and in pieces!"

The newly appointed captain of the guard bowed and scampered from the room, no doubt pale under his helmet. As he left, King William decided he had put in enough effort for the day. He collapsed back into his seat, exhausted from the exertion and waved his arm lazily at the rest of the attending servants, dismissing them back to their duties. No sooner had they hurried from the room, his body slumped in the seat, his head lolled back and thick, abrasive snores could be heard echoing in his cavernous throat.

* * *

"Regina…" Elena started.

"Be quiet. I can't believe you have such nerve to try and take my son away from me. It leads me to wonder whether you really are on our side."

"What…?" she stuttered. "Is that what all this is about? You still don't trust me after all I've done to help you?"

"Of course I don't trust you," Regina snarled, taking a menacing step forward, "you're a criminal whose spent her life dancing about with swords in the forest and sleeping in the mud like a pig." At this Elena tried to protest but The Evil Queen wasn't having any of it. She had started and she would finish. "How can you possibly understand us? What we're doing? You don't. You just prance around in your badass outfit and pretend you're some kind of hero. But all you are is a filthy lowlife. We should have left you to burn at the castle. You would have been more useful then, as a distraction for the king's men. You think you're so amazing, 'The Shadow'," she mimicked and scoffed at it, "but you're just a child who's too cowardly to grow up."

Regina stopped there, leaving an eerie silence in the forest around them. Elena suddenly became painfully aware of the brittle wind that was sneaking through the trees and wrapping itself around her legs. She felt as if she was being swept up, swept up by the forest as a broomstick brushes away the dust on the floor; and along with it came a sense of emptiness for the first time in her life. She wanted to argue back and defend herself but couldn't find the words. Her tongue felt like it had contracted like a snail into its shell. All she could do was stare, shell-shocked, into the hardened brown orbs of her accuser.

"I…" her throat managed to gurgle at last. Regina looked back into her green eyes, to full of unshed tears to reflect the forest about her, and her anger began to dissipate.

Elena's thoughts were running in a cycle, questioning what Regina had said and trying to put everything into the right places in her mind. Was this true? Was this what Regina really felt about her? Had she never actually grown up? Was she still the timid girl who'd fled from the sanctuary of her own home? Her faced began to whiten as a sudden anxiety seized her. The brunette noticed her change in complexion and a wave of regret washed over her.

"I-I'm sorry, Elena," she finally stumbled over the words as though they were very reluctant to become airborn. "I shouldn't have said –"

"No," Elena whispered so noiselessly that it might be mistaken for a breath, "you're right." Her empty stare dropped to focus on the solid earth as if hoping it might lend her some stability. "I've been running my whole life. And I think I've known it. But it was ok because as long as I kept running, I didn't have to think about it. Just put one foot in front of the other." She was mumbling still mumbling, but the notes of her voice strengthened themselves a little. "I should have killed him years ago. I could have ended it sooner and so much brutality would have been avoided. But even though I couldn't stay there any longer, I couldn't leave either."

"This isn't your fault, dear. None of this is," Regina coaxed in an attempt to repair the damage she'd done. Comforting people wasn't her forte and she suddenly felt incapable and out of her depth. "And I shouldn't have said those things, really. You're not a child. I mean, I don't think of you as a child."

"Yes you do," Elena said, a sad smile flickering on her face. "And this might not be my fault but it _is_ my responsibility. I've been so selfish, a coward. I'm just a frightened girl."

A multitude of tears had gathered in her eyes and were threatening to spill over her drawn cheeks. Within the space of minutes Regina had reduced her to a shaking pillar of pity. All of a sudden, she felt her awareness leave her, as if she were just thin air, a dreaming cloud hovering low over the ground.

Regina saw that she was about to fall and reached out to catch her awkwardly, instinctively pulling her into her arms. Instantly, she was aware of the fresh fruity smell of the girl's hair and subconsciously and gradually pulled her into a closer embrace in which she had to support the majority of her bodyweight. But Regina didn't mind. She could have stayed there forever, feeling the comfort and warmth of the others body touching hers, but they didn't have forever. They had hours before the castle assault would start and Henry and Roland still had nowhere to go.

"Regina," whispered Elena close to her ear, causing a shudder to run through her body that she hoped would be attributed to the cold.

"We should go," the Queen concluded, reluctantly stepping back from the other woman once she'd breathed in her scent one last time.

"What about Henry?" Elena asked, her voice still timid but her cheeks suspiciously rosy for one who'd been so distant just a few moments ago.

"About that…" Regina sighed, "I believe we need to pay a visit to a friend of yours."

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed that one. It all got a bit dramatic. As always. Please review if you liked it. I seriously appreciate all the reviews I get so I'd also like to thank anyone who has reviewed so far. You are awesome people :) Luvsya**


	13. Chapter 13

Elena looked up at Regina, drinking in the chocolate pools and wishing that she could stay safe in this embrace forever. When Regina said she was willing to visit her friend she hadn't believed it after her first reaction. But it seemed she was serious.

"Where is this village?" Regina asked her as they began to walk towards the road.

"Only a mile west from here," Elena replied, trying to collect herself from her emotional breakdown.

"Good, we don't have time to walk far. The most we have is an hour."

"Then we'd better get a move on," Elena concluded, lengthening her stride.

Ten minutes into their walk, Regina decided to inquire after this woman that Elena called a friend. She had agreed to this as a show of trust to Elena, feeling guilty at how she had utterly broken down her defences. But she had to wonder, what kind of person this woman could be that she could be trusted so much to keep Elena's secrets and yet had never before been mentioned.

"How do you know her?" Regina began, her question hovering in the darkening skies above them. She noticed a hesitation on Elena's part and deliberated as to whether she should be asking. In truth, Elena was debating how much she should tell her.

"She used to be my governess," was the long-awaited reply.

"A governess? _You_ had a governess?" Regina smiled before biting back her tongue. She wasn't sure how sensitive the girl was on this subject. Luckily, Elena seemed to be unaffected.

"Yes. Strange isn't it? I can't remember when it was I last saw her. Must have been…" She trailed off and looked into the distance, angling her face away from her companion. There was a long silence that Regina didn't feel it was wise to break before Elena finally spoke.

"She looked after my brother when he was kicked out of home."

"You have a brother?" Regina said as her interest piqued.

"I _had_ a brother," the girl replied before offering a small smile in return to diffuse the tension. "He was a couple of years my younger. Edward was his name."

Elena continued to glance up at Regina as if wanting to say something else but unsure how to start. Regina was about to ask her what it was before they suddenly came upon a sparsely occupied hamlet and Elena collected herself, saying "we're here" and leading Regina by the hand to one of the cottages that looked as if it had seen better days. Part of Regina wanted to back out there and then at the state of the home, the thought occurring that she could never leave her son in a place like that but something kept her mouth shut, perhaps it was the warm, soft contact against her palm, skin on skin, or maybe, she convinced herself, she just didn't want to upset her again. In any case, she found herself standing by Elena on the porch of the house waiting for a sharp knock to attract the attention of the inhabitant.

A shuffling tread could be heard on the other side of the wooden barricade before a key was heard turning in the rusty lock. The door swung open revealing a frail woman in what looked to be her late forties with hair that was only just greying but still had a tinge of brown to it. She had thin twinkly eyes that, when she saw her visitors, stretched open as wide as they could go, ironing out the crinkles below her eyes.

"Elena!" she spoke in a younger voice than Regina would have given her credit for as she suddenly reached forward to envelope the unassuming subject in her weak arms. For a few seconds, a wave of relief and comfort passed over her face as she hugged her victim with as much force as she could. Just when Regina thought she would never let go, she suddenly ripped herself away and a torrent of words began to issue from her mouth.

"What do you mean by disappearing like that a week later, after… and never coming back. Just one word, I don't care from who. Just to let me know you were alright, if nothing else. I thought you were dead or worse, captured. You've know idea how much I've worried since you've left. You've got a lot to answer for girl, you know that? Now get in quickly before any guards chance to come by, and you!" she finished, practically pushing Regina through the small doorway. The older woman, after this display of violent affection, ushered them through to a small sitting room that comprised of a small sofa and a couple of wooden chairs, before shuffling into a small kitchen adjacent to it. Elena sat on the sofa and seemed instantly at home in the setting. Regina sat down next to her and was about to say something until she saw Elena put her finger to her lips and she halted her tongue.

"So why now?" a voiced called from behind a ramshackle wall, the woodwork battered and rotten from decades of woodworm. "What's happened? Is this about your father?" it continued as the owner appeared around the corner, holding a tray of sweetmeats and three mugs of a cold, murky brown liquid that Regina wasn't sure she wanted to identify.

"No, actually. It's about the king," Elena spoke for the first time, accompanying the words with a pointed look at the woman opposite who was settling into one of the wooden chairs opposite.

"I see," she said, casting a quick glance at Regina beside her before returning her gaze to Elena. Regina briefly wondered what it was she was missing but she was distracted when Elena shifted in her seat and their thighs brushed together in the small seat. She felt her skin prickle.

"Well whatever it is, I'm happy to help," the governess concluded.

"I know," Elena stated not unkindly with a warm smile. There followed an uncomfortable silence in which Regina was all too aware of her closeness with the other woman. She looked around her at the crumbling house and her glance flitted from the knitting in the corner, to a collection of toys on a basic square table, propped up against the wall and finally resting on the collection of untouched refreshments sitting in front of them.

"And who are you?" the woman finally asked, directing her inscrutable faded blue eyes towards Regina who was increasingly feeling herself the outsider. Her tone was polite enough but her eyes betrayed a hint of suspicion.

"This is Regina," Elena quickly supplied for her. "She's a friend."

Regina's heart quivered a little at the term.

"Friend?" the woman questioned, not even bothering to hide the doubt in her voice.

"Yes, friend," Elena confirmed, looking across into Regina's eyes before quickly averting her gaze back to her old governess.

"Well," the greying woman replying, her tone uplifting, "a friend of Elena's is a friend of mine," she said, reaching her thin hand across no-mans-land into a handshake with the bewildered Regina. "I suppose Elena's already told you who I am?" she half assumed half inquired.

"Umm, no actually. She just said you were her governess," said Regina, her voice croaky from her silence. The woman rolled her eyes.

"She never was one for etiquette," she said confidentially, causing Regina to let out a small smile out of the side of her mouth. "Well my name is Abbigail, but Elena here just calls me Auntie. So I suppose you can do that too."

Elena had to swallow back a burst of laughter as she watched a well-mastered look of mortification wash over Regina's visage at the thought of such an informal term. However, she merely nodded in recognition and muttered a short thank you.

The newly introduced Abbigail started to clear away the plates and cups of untouched food. Regina noticed that Elena had made an effort to drink some of the suspicious looking liquid and eat some of the food and suddenly felt awkward at not trying any herself. However, her abstinence seemed to go unnoticed as the old woman disappeared into the kitchen.

"So?" Elena whispered beside her when she was out of earshot.

"So?" Regina frowned.

"Do you trust her?"

Regina considered briefly and was about to reply when the woman re-entered.

"Well," Abbigail ventured, "Am I ever going to find out why you are here?"

"Yes, yes, of course," Elena began briefly flashing her eyes towards Regina who replied with a single nod. "We need you to look after someone for us."

Elena then began to recount the story as Regina sat beside her motionless, listening to her companion's voice, her thoughts drifting away.

Twenty minutes later they were almost back at the house where they had left the rest of their company. They had talked all the way back, mostly Elena had been telling Regina about her childhood and about her brother but the brunette still felt she was holding back somewhat and it nagged at her for most of the journey although she enjoyed the walk well enough. They rounded a corner and saw their temporary abode. All of a sudden, Elena swivelled round stopping Regina in her tracks. Then, feeling the awkwardness of her action, let go and dropped her gaze. Regina let out a nervous laugh.

"What is it?"

Confusion was written all over her face. Hesitantly she lifted a finger and placed it under Elena's downturned chin, feeling the jaw tighten underneath her touch. She gently lifted up her head, feeling the timid green eyes dragging upwards over her front until they reached her own eyes. She watched as the round, moist, emerald eyes stared into hers and suddenly became aware of her deep, desperate breaths. The eyes were darkening, filling with unspoken darkness and, like black holes, sucking her into the unflinching gaze. She felt something touch her hand which hadn't moved from where it was under Elena's chin. Her gaze lowered as she watched long fragile fingers envelop her own. Elena's eyes fell also, looking at their entwined hands.

"You trust me," she said.

It wasn't a question.

"I do."

All of a sudden, they heard a deliberate cough behind them and instantly sprang apart as the outside world attempted to contact them. Snow and Charming were standing a couple of meters away. His eyebrows were raised while Snow wore an expression of pure shock on her face, probably from seeing her once-nemesis in such an intimate moment.

Sitting inside the house and awaiting the return of Elena and Regina, the Charming family plus Red and Hook were beginning to get worried. They had been gone for over an hour now and in all that time they had heard nothing from outside. It was Snow who first broke the silence.

"That's it. I'm going to go look for them outside."

David immediately stood up next to her and made to follow, grabbing his sword on the way to the door.

"What could have happened to them?" asked Emma to the cold, frosty room. She could feel an icicle building on her nose as the night began to approach. They had a long night ahead of them and one hour had just been wasted waiting for the duo to return. "Hey, kid," she said, nudging Henry, "What do you think Regina's doing?" Henry shrugged.

"Usually she just shouts at me. It should be over after a minute," he supplied casually but noticing the worried look on his birth mother's face, his forehead began to increase with childish anxiety. "Do you think they're alright?"

"I don't know kid," Emma replied. "But your mum's a strong woman, and Elena. They'll be fine." She drew her arm around him and let his head rest on her shoulder.

Just then, the door burst open to reveal a bewildered Snow and David alongside a blushing Regina and Elena.


	14. Chapter 14

The moon was rising higher in the sky as the company said their goodbyes to Henry and Roland, leaving them in the watchful care of Abbigail. For the most part they walked in silence, only the patient thump-thump of Jack's hooves on the road breaking the tension. They had been walking half an hour before Red abruptly captured their attention with a harsh whisper.

"Someone's coming," she hissed, pointing into the distance. Nothing was yet visible on the road ahead but they knew better than to ignore Red's instincts. They deftly disappeared into the forest, finding whatever cover they could whilst they waited for whoever it was to pass by quietly. When the culprits finally became visible, they were identified as some of the king's soldiers, a large group of sixteen strong. Snow felt Regina tense beside her and sensed something was wrong.

"What's the matter?" she whispered into her ear, causing the brunette to jump slightly at the interruption.

"They're heading towards the village. We need to intercept them," she answered, evidently frightened that Henry and Roland might be in trouble.

"Regina, we don't know that," Snow tried to soothe her, anxious to avoid combat. It had no effect.

"But it's possibility and I am going to eliminate it," she whispered more harshly than before, clutching her fist together then releasing it to reveal a fireball.

"NO, Regina. No killing. I thought you were passed that."

"I have to," Regina said, getting impatient. "I can't let them go."

Snow could see the conflict on her brow as she struggled between wanting to be good and choosing the easy way out.

"Fine," Snow blurted out, "we stop them. But no one dies."

She strung an arrow to her bow and aimed it at the travelling company who were still trudging innocently along the dusty road. Once it released, it shot through the air, narrowly missing the leader and embedding itself into a tree on the far side. The group burst into a flurry of commotion, their captain issuing out orders left, right and centre until nobody really knew what was going on, including the other makeshift bandits concealed in the trees. Snow and Regina stepped out from their hiding place, showing some dramatic flair as Regina was dressed head to toe in one of her Evil Queen outfits, fireball in hand.

The effect that this had on the soldiers only caused more confusion as they seemed debating whether to draw swords to attack or flee for their lives. As the other hidden travellers revealed themselves, they began to shrink together, their confidence wavering as they realised that they were surrounded. Elena watched the scene unravel from where she crouched concealed. At last, when Charming called for them to surrender, they dropped their weapons at once and allowed Red, Hook and Emma to tie them up. Once this was done, there was only the matter of what to do with them. In the end, they simply left them tied to the surrounding trees with the thought that eventually someone would come across them and release them.

Danger averted and without casualties they continued along the road until they eventually reached the Dark Castle. Its grey, oppressive walls sneered down at them as they approached, daring them to try an assault. Undeterred, the group launched their attack.

Their first move was to scale the walls using a couple of grappling hooks they had laden Jack with. After a few unsuccessful attempts to secure them to the parapets, Regina was forced to use her magic to guide them into place. This done, Elena and David climbed first, being the better at close combat and, meeting no opposition at the top of the wall, signalled the rest to follow. The climb was high, higher than even Regina was expecting and it made their heads swim. Miraculously, they all reached the top before they faced any resistance. But just as they were beginning to feel very lucky, a guard emerged from a tower further along. He opened his mouth to cry for help but, even as the group were preparing for the worst, the man tried in vain to speak. No sound emerged. They looked to Regina, who stood glaring at the man in triumph.

"A muting spell?" asked Emma, interested.

"Quite," The Evil Queen replied as David knocked him out cold with the butt of his blade then went to hide the body.

"Perfect," said Elena with satisfaction. "One guard's costume. Check. Now we need someone to wear it." She looked at Killian who raised his eyebrows and then his hands in protest.

"No thanks, love. That's not exactly my style," was her only reply.

Elena stuck out her bottom lip and said, "Awwww, but you're the only one who'd fit it," before hearing a cough behind her and noticing Regina's pointed stare. She immediately retracted her lip and said in a serious voice. "Just wear it, please," as if she were herself speaking to a child. Killian took a little persuading but as soon as Emma told him he would look handsome in it, he gave in, albeit reluctantly. The group then formulated a plan.

Killian, adorned in his knightly robes, played infiltrator, sneaking into the castle and trying to locate the king. It would definitely come in useful to have some surprise back-up should anything go wrong. The others remained behind and turned to Regina for their tasks. It was she who knew the castle best and devised that the best plan was to enter through a servants' entrance that had once been frequently used in the days of her rule. Now, however, the location of the kitchen had been moved when the Queen had been disturbed in her bedchamber by the incessant shuffling and arguing that she could hear from two whole floors below her, leaving the entrance hastily barricaded and forgotten.

The group consequently sneaked their way around the castle to the entrance, which they noted was not without guards. It seemed their king was not as stupid as he appeared and was indeed aware that there was risk of an attack. Regina flicked her wrist and the two guards flew to the sides, the impact rendering them unconscious. Elena grinned as she watched the Queen make short work of them whilst everybody else wondered what they were doing there.

"There," Regina said triumphantly. "One secret entrance."

"Not that secret," Robin pointed out.

Regina pouted before telling him and Charming to put on the guards' uniforms.

That evening, King William had decided to grace the air of the throne room. He was sitting in the abnormally large golden-plated seat in the centre, staring around himself at the expensive and totally unnecessary furnishings. His slouched posture made him look for all the world like a walrus, flailing around as he tried to adjust his position in the still too small chair he was occupying. An overdressed courtier in a flurry of frills was addressing him with the contents of a long parchment. King William slouched deeper into his chair and tolerated his presence.

 _Why was being king so difficult,_ he asked himself. _The kingdom should be grateful that he endured all this endless boredom for them._

He broke from these thoughts at the realisation that everyone was looking at him.

"What?" he snapped ungraciously.

"Do you approve of the changes, your grace?" the courtier repeated.

"Uhh..yes, whatever," the King sighed and dismissed his attendants with a lazy wave of his hand.

"I shall have the money transferred immediately, sir." The courtier bowed and turned to leave.

"Wait…..What?" King William suddenly exclaimed as he caught on to what was happening.

"The gold, your majesty," the eye roll was evident in his voice, "I will have it moved from your treasury."

"No. Stop. Don't do that." The King ordered desperately. "Cancel it. Whatever it was."

"A-are you sure, your majesty?" the courtier checked, uncertain. "These children are in great need of…"

"And I need my gold, don't I? I don't know how you expect me to run a bloody empire on…"

Just then, there was an interruption at the door as raised voices were heard outside. King William looked at the door with a pained expression. He lifted a porky hand to his worried brow.

"Someone please go and tell them to shut up."

An attendant went to see what the commotion was about.

"As I was saying," he continued, "it really is impossible for you people to expect miracles from me. I am not made of money as you are fond of saying. I'm sure I will die an early death from all this pestering. In fact, you," he motioned to the courtier but the frilly man never heard his command because suddenly the doors burst open and the attendant ran in, bowing low before the king before waiting breathlessly for permission to speak.

"What is it now?"

"There are some guards outside, sire. They say they have the Queen."

"The Queen?" the King said, rising slightly in his chair.

"The Queen," the man confirmed.

"The Evil Queen?"

"Yes, sire, the Evil Queen."

If the other attendants thought their peer had entered quickly, it was nothing to the speed at which the King propelled himself from his chair.

"Hazaar!" he cried. "At last something interesting has occurred."

He sat down again and tried to position himself in his most regal pose that he ended up resembling more closely a wider and more comedic version of the sorts of statues they build outside museums.

"Bring her in," he ordered in what he supposed was his casually commanding tone. Once again, the great doors opened to reveal a small group of soldiers escorting a defeated looking Regina, Snow White, Red and Emma into the room and depositing them carelessly onto the marble flooring.


	15. Chapter 15

Saying that Regina was not amused would be an understatement. She was furious. First of all, she was uncomfortably positioned kneeling on the floor below what appeared to be some cross-breed between a human and a slug and the marble tiles that she herself had had installed felt as if they were breaking her kneecaps. But then there was the fact that this was not the plan as she had known it. She had thought they would just be captured and have an audience with the king, not be humiliated in this way; and she certainly hadn't allowed for the fact that the king seemed to be creepily obsessed with her. She could even feel Snow gritting her teeth beside her at the King's careless and disinterested tone. She was one insult away from roasting him.

The King had been pacing, well dragging himself, left to right in front of them, his bodyweight inches from their faces so that when Regina looked up, all she could see was the garish velvet embroidery on the belly of the King's garments. That was why she chose to close her eyes, then lower her gaze for good measure.

"So, the Evil Queen is in my castle, under my close guard…"

Emma and Red couldn't help but smirk slightly at that irony. _Little did he know_.

"…and I can't help but wonder why," the King said in his monotone. It didn't take a psychologist to know that he didn't care in the slightest for their reasons. He just enjoyed having the power. "And Snow White too," he continued, stopping in front of the brunette in question, "so much prettier than on the posters. Your artists truly didn't do her justice, Regina."

Regina almost burst right then but somehow managed to keep her control by tightening all the muscles in her body tenfold. The effort was painful. King William noticed her stiffen and smiled none too subtly.

"Do you mind me calling you Regina?" he asked with feigned concern. "We are of the same class after all, are we not?"

Emma let out a snort of laughter. She seemed to be enjoying this meeting far too much, Regina decided, casting a glare towards the blonde who shrugged innocently back. The king was all but unaware of the interaction of his prisoners and far too engrossed in his speech.

"Although," he continued, inspecting the dirt under his fingernails, "not anymore it would seem."

Regina broke.

"May I ask what the purpose of this interview was before I burn you to a crisp," she snarled, standing up whilst managing to retain her balance. Her hands were still tied behind her but her heeled boots were enough to gain her an advantage over the stout king.

"Men! What are you doing?" he cried, having to strain his neck around Regina to address the three soldiers who were looking at each other nervously. None of them were really sure what to do. "Restrain her, you idiots."

"Seems you're not as in control as you thought," Regina growled in triumph, as far up in his face as she wanted to be. As she stared him in the eye, she noticed a flash of movement behind her as a black shape entered the room through a side door.

"Guards!" the threatened king cried out at the top of his voice. The three guards behind the prisoners exchanged glances again before one of them said, "Yes your grace."

"Not you idiot," was the only reply he got. "Guards!" the king shouted even louder. Nothing happened.

"Where are they?" the frustrated king demanded, his anger rising by the second.

"Yes, Elena, where are all the guards?" Regina asked the figure at the other end of the room. It emerged from behind one of the pillars.

"Elena!" What?!" King William snarled, the fear evident in his voice as he realised that no help was coming, he was alone. "You guards," he pointed to the three who stood ready, hands on their sword hilts, "dispatch these invaders immediately."

With that, the three men were finally able to remove their helmets.

"Sorry, mate. Can't do that," Killian smiled as he removed his own. The three began to untie their friends.

"What!? What is this? Who are you?" the king was shouting, still in a state of shock. "Guards! Guards!"

"They can't hear you," Red said. "It's over."

So the King had realised, his eyes beginning to dart around the large hall, looking for a chance of escape. Suddenly, he made a dart for one open door at the side but Emma was there already and stopped him with hand on his chubby wrist.

"Not so fast, Jabba," she said. "Give up."

The King was rasping like never before, almost hyperventilating in his fright.

As he eventually realised that there was nothing he began to appeal to them desperately.

"Look, I'm rich. I'll give you money, land, whatever you want."

"You do realise, we could just take your money," Emma pointed out, still holding onto his arm firmly.

"Elena. Stop them. You must stop them," he pleaded, turning to the girl who was keeping her distance from the entire scene. She shook her head solemnly but offered him no words.

"And why would she do that?" asked Regina. "She's the one who's been fighting you all these years."

Regina shot a glance at Elena who was watching the scene unfold just as fan might watch a losing game. Their eyes met and Regina knew instantly that she was missing something. She'd had this feeling before about Elena, when they talked about her past, when they visited Abbigail, earlier on when they almost…; now she was sure.

King William saw the exchange between them. Despite his own many faults, he was not a complete fool and his heightened senses had sniffed an opportunity.

"You mean you don't know?" he said in mock horror, "Elena. How could you not tell your friends?"

"What is he talking about, Elena?" Snow asked. "What have you not told us?"

Elena looked down, avoiding their glares. She could feel Regina's eyes boring into her skull.

"Well, if you won't I will," the man said, a glint of mischief in his eyes. "This fortuitous companion, this noble heroine you've been travelling with," he applied great sarcasm to these words as he spat them out, "'The Shadow', is…"  
"I'm his daughter," Elena burst out. The room went silent, everyone waited for someone else to speak. "I'm sorry," Elena continued eventually, "I should have told you earlier. I just didn't want you to see me differently, as an enemy."

She shifted from one foot to another, continuing to keep her eyes locked on the floor. Her fumbling fingers found the wooden necklace of shapes around her neck.

"Damn right you should have told us," said Hook, walking towards her with his hook pointed in threat.

"Hook, wait," Emma intervened but was still attached to the king whose evil grin had never left his face. If he was going down, Elena was coming too. Regina saw the expression on his face and was struck with an emotion that she hadn't expected to feel. Anger. Not anger that Elena had held back such a vital truth, but a different type of anger. A fury that was directed at the king's expense for being so careless and malicious with the life of his own daughter. She could not imagine herself in his place, doing such a thing to Henry. Suddenly she felt as though she wanted to punch him in the face with all her force or direct a fireball right between his eyes but at the same time, she really had no idea what had made her feel this quite so passionately. All this time, she could not move a muscle. Her emotions glued her to the floor.

She was shaken out of her trance when she heard Snow shout, "Killian!" and she spun round to see Elena clutching the left side of her face whilst David moved to restrain the pirate who'd let his anger overcome him in one swift blow to the face. Regina made to go and comfort her but something held her back. It seemed to her for the briefest moment, that she no longer knew her.

"A good liar isn't she?" the King said, interrupting the scene that he was evidently finding quite amusing. He opened his mouth to continue but was stopped when he felt something cold and sharp at his throat. Regina had found that to resist her building fury was impossible and, at his last comment, had felt the insatiable urge to physically hurt him in whatever way she could. Magic was too good for him. She wanted to feel the blood coming from his veins.

"Regina! What the hell! Calm down," pleaded a surprised Emma, trying to separate the two of them without letting the king escape.

"No. I don't think I will," hissed Regina, her Evil Queen showing drastically.

"Regina, stop," Elena's small voice could be heard over the loud and desperate breathing of the king.

Regina hesitated.

"Why are you defending him?" she rasped, keeping the knife at his throat, "you of all people should want me to kill him."

"I do," she said simply, looking the man squarely in the face. "But he is my father, however much I may hate it."

With that. The blind rage of the Evil Queen dissipated and she withdrew her hand. Regina had killed her father and had never stopped regretting it. How could she push Elena to do the same thing?

"You're right. I'm sorry."

"Then what should we do with him?" David voiced the question they all had been asking themselves. "Elena. You must decide."

Elena looked into the eyes of the man who had destroyed her life in ways that her companions had yet to understand. She saw behind his grey visage and for once, took pity on him. Now he knew what it was to lose everything and, unlike her, he wasn't coming back from there. Elena had found a new purpose and, dare she say it, new friends. At least, she hoped they would still understand and like her. But her father, he would never be trusted to start again.

"I'm sure once you have emptied all the innocents from the cells below us, there will be enough room for him," she deadpanned before turning and exiting the room.


	16. Chapter 16

**Warning: Long Chapter ahead. Whew... so much writing but I finally tied it up in the longest chapter yet. I hope it satisfies you and I've even thrown in an epilogue which I'll be posting at the same time. It gets sad before it gets happy**

* * *

The castle had been turned to utter confusion for the rest of that night and through to the next morning. Once it was clear that their king had been captured and imprisoned, it did not take much persuasion to enforce the surrender of the garrison and the many courtiers who were tired of the king's terrible rule. Robin and his men busied themselves with forming a temporary guard for the Charming couple who ran around desperately trying to instate some sort of order, calling a council of all of the ex-king's courtiers with the help of Red, Emma and Hook. Elena had not been seen by anyone since she had left the room earlier but they were all so occupied with arrangements that they did not have time to look for her. All except Regina, who felt very unwanted.

Regina knew that she would never be allowed to have power within the kingdom. Although she despised their distrust of her, she could not argue that it was ill-founded. For that reason she decided the best thing she could possibly do would be to leave to find that darn beautiful girl who was denying her responsibilities.

She was the heir after all, Regina thought as she strode from the room. Despite it being five o'clock in the morning, the majority of the King's castle was awake and in a state of excitement as everyone sensed that something was changing. Regina gained a few strange looks as she came close to running through the corridors in the direction the other woman had fled. _Did they recognise her?_ she wondered, _and if they did, would they hate her?. Would she ever be safe in the Enchanted Forest again?_ She banished these thoughts from her mind when she saw Elena's figure pacing on one of the balconies. _How long had she been there?_

"What the hell are you doing here, Miss Giovanni?" she began charging over to where the woman was looking over the busy castle. The first hint of morning light could be seen on the horizon and Elena was watching the dawn break, her mind elsewhere. At Regina's voice, she was sucked from her thoughts.

"I was wondering what I was going to do," said Elena, not at all affected by Regina's tone. "The king is dethroned and the country is safely in the hands of good people again. It sounds ridiculous and, I don't know…selfish, when you consider it, but I feel redundant. I have lost my purpose."

She was just murmuring to herself in a state of uncertainty, but Regina understood. When you give your life to something, revenge, justice, whatever you call it, you can sometimes forget how to live without it.

"Elena. You are far from superfluous. You still have a duty to perform, it is not over yet," Regina said in a voice that was harsher than she meant it to be. She put a hand on her shoulder and looked up into the face of the pensive younger woman, trying to read the emotions there. "You are the heir to the kingdom, dear," the term of endearment surprised her as she said it so solemnly, "and you need to take that responsibility."

At last, Elena turned her head slowly to look at her.

"I am no queen," she whispered before turning back to the sunrise, "not like you are."

Regina's heart jumped again at the woman's words, unsure as to what they meant.

"I was not a good queen," Regina admitted and Elena knew that it meant a lot for her to say so out loud.

"But you could be," Elena smiled weakly down at the woman beside her who had also begun to stare thoughtfully at the entrancing light.

Regina scoffed.

"I'm afraid I've had my last chance already," she replied. "Besides," she added with a sigh, "I am not the rightful heir. You are."

"What will happen to us?" asked Elena and they both looked at each other at the idea that there might ever have been an 'us'.

Regina's eyes widened at the thought but she refused to let the butterflies in her stomach interfere with her speech.

"I imagine that you will rule the country here, and I," she paused, uncertain as to how she could finish. "I will go where Henry goes," she managed eventually.

"And where is that?" Elena asked, but neither of them had an answer.

"What if…?" Elena began. She didn't attempt to finish.

"Yes?" Regina encouraged her.

"It's nothing," the younger woman finished, eventually tearing herself away from those gorgeous brown orbs and looking instead towards the doors behind them that led into the palace itself. "We should go."

And with that, she left Regina alone on the balcony, wondering why her heart was beating so fast and whether one day, the pain would stop.

It was an hour later when they were all gathered around a central table to discuss the future of the kingdom. All the travellers were there with the addition of the most important of the king's previous courtiers and the exception of Red and Robin who had been excused to attend to other tasks.

"Princess Elena," Charming was saying, noticing the flinch that the title caused in the uncomfortable woman across the table, "you are heir to this kingdom and, as a sign of our respect and faith in your justice and wisdom, my wife and I have agreed to drop all claims to the kingdom. May your rule endure," he finished with a bow and sat down next to his wife, their hands clasped in front of them.

Elena regarded their actions and said nothing.

After a few moments of fairly awkward silence, Regina noticed that Snow was attempting to gain her attention. She stared back at her with as much animosity as she could muster. Eventually, Snow gave up on her silent contact and decided subtlety was overrated.

"And you Regina?" she asked, indicating Elena with her head.

"What about me?" Regina drawled, the strained patience in her voice showing through.

"I trust that you are renouncing your claim to the throne," Snow said, with a hint of warning in her tone. Regina regarded her squarely as one would regard an irritating fly.

"I do," she said simply, and the room seemed to visibly exhale in relief.

Regina had been trying to avoid Elena's gaze but with these words she was forced to look up and met with the unreadable expression of those green orbs. Just before they had firmly locked upon each other, though, Elena suddenly looked down at the shaking hands in her lap, a spread of scarlet over her cheek and Regina watched her, thinking how well the colour suited her.

As she continued to stare at her subject, she was vaguely aware that Emma was talking but at the mention of Henry's name she snapped her head around to look at her.

"No Emma, you can't leave," Snow was appealing to her, "I know it may not feel like it yet but this is where you were born, where you were meant to be."

"But I don't remember it," Emma reasoned, "I don't understand it. Just as I was beginning to feel that I belonged somewhere in Storybrooke, everyone else decides that that's not home. Your my family. And I love you. I do. But you have to understand that this isn't where I belong. This isn't home." Emma placed a hand on her forehead as she was torn between her family and her own world. How could she ever be happy here? How could Henry ever be happy here? "That's why," she continued, "I have to go back to Storybrooke and take Henry with me."

"You can't do that," Regina instantly responded, rising from her seat and causing the whole table to jump.

"It's not safe for Henry here," Emma argued. "His home is in Storybrooke too. If you want to come with us and be a part of his life too, Regina, you're welcome to but I am leaving regardless."

"Emma," Snow tried again, "for once I'm with Regina. You must give the Enchanted Forest a chance. We can look after Henry here just as well as in Storybrooke. It'll be a lot safer now."

"I'm sorry, mom, I can't," Emma attempted desperately to make them understand.

"And what will Henry say to all of this?" asked Regina, "You haven't even asked him what he wants. What if he wants to stay here too?" The desperation was painfully obvious in her voice, so much so that Elena could hardly bear to listen. She said she would go with Henry and Elena knew she had meant it. _And if that means her going to Storybrooke? What then?_ she asked herself.

"Red and Robin went to fetch them from the village this morning," inserted Killian, "perhaps you can ask him when he gets back."

Emma looked into Regina's eyes and saw the same fear she had seen in the mayor when she had first met her, the fear that she would take away her child, her only source of happiness and her heart wavered for the woman.

"Come with us," she offered.

Regina nodded.

"If Henry agrees to go back to Storybrooke, I will go with you," she replied, an air of finality in her voice and on her features. Even as she said it she felt a pair of emerald eyes bore into her and she was overwhelmed by a feeling of pure sadness in the knowledge that, with Henry's word, she would never see Elena again.

"Now," said Killian, clearly eager to move their conversation onto a safer topic, "perhaps her highness Princess Elena would like to explain how she came to be an outlaw in the forest?"

Though their previous dispute was not quite forgotten, the company were genuinely interested in the girl's story and Elena, finding herself put on the spot once again, felt as though she owed them an explanation. She hesitated, wondering where to start.

"Well, it began when I was 16 and my mother died of an illness. Before that, life at the palace was bearable, if a little dull. I was never one to be confined indoors," she acknowledged with a sad smile, "and I used to go out and hunt and practice sword fighting with the guards and get into all kinds of trouble with my father who never approved. Btu my mother always spoke up for me, saying that I was young and just enjoying life as all children of my age should do. She understood me as no one else did and she was my only friend and confidant, apart from Abbigail," here she cast a shy glance at Regina. "However, one thing you may not know is that I had a brother, Edward. Indeed, this was kept from almost everyone apart from my father's closest advisors. It was all kept under wraps and his life was secreted from the public. I was instructed never to talk of him to anyone and he was kept up in the northern tower, away from the prying eyes of servants, in the care of our governess.

"It changed when my mother died. She was the only thing standing between my father and brother. You see, my father was ashamed of Edward because he was…different," she struggled in vain for a better word here, but none seemed to quite summarise how she felt. "There was nothing wrong with him. He was gentle, kind, everything I needed him to be, but he never grew up, never truly understood the world as an adult does. For that reason, my father sent him away, refused to keep him at the castle anymore because he wasn't what my father deemed to be 'princely material'. Instead he was entrusted into the care of Abbigail who looked after him until the day he died. That was just a few years ago." At this point, there were tears in her eyes as she spoke but she refused to let them fall.

"It was once my brother had been abandoned that my father and I began to fall out." She looked around at the vaguely surprised faces and let out a small smile of her own, "of course we had always argued before, my father is a …difficult man to get along with and not a great fatherly figure. Regardless, it was when he refused to let me visit Edward when I finally snapped. I left the castle that very same afternoon and if I'm honest with myself I never really knew what I was doing but I ended up at Abbigail's doorstep with nothing more than a small bag of clothes and personal items. She took me in, of course, but it wasn't long before I realised that my presence was endangering the two of them and I was forced to leave, despite Abbigail's insistence that I stay. That's how I ended up in the forest. Once I realised how bad the situation was for the people of the kingdom I had to help them and, eventually, caused enough trouble for my father, the king, to be named an outlaw. And, well…the rest is history, I suppose."

The newly restored princess finished her narrative and surveyed the faces in front of her. There were expressions of gravity, concern, sympathy and of course hope, but Elena realised that it didn't matter to her what they thought. It didn't matter because now she was no longer hiding from anyone and that gave her a sense of relief that she had never expected to feel at all. Nobody spoke because nobody really had anything to say so they sat in silence for what felt like hours before the door burst open and Henry's smiling countenance suddenly lit up the room and dispensed with any tension.

It was hours later when Regina finally realised that Elena wasn't coming downstairs anytime soon. Emma had spoken to Henry about whether he wanted to return with her to Storybrooke and, with the knowledge that Regina was coming too, he agreed, knowing that it was what Emma wanted. Regina was divided. On the one hand, she was happy that the ordeal was over, she was free to live in peace with Henry for the rest of her life and she and Emma had even come up with satisfactory arrangements for looking after their son. However, there was still a part of her, a substantial part, which knew that, even with Henry, her life would never be quite the same. And, if she left the forest, that part of her would never fully recover. Hopelessly and foolishly romantic as it was, and Regina just had to roll her eyes at herself, it was time she stopped denying it. What she felt for Elena was nothing short of love and to put that into words was both relieving and excruciating.

Torn apart as she was, she gathered herself before climbing the stairs to find Elena. She had an inkling to where she might be and her suspicions were confirmed when she saw Elena leaning on the delicate metal railings of the balcony, basking in the sunlight. She paused, unnoticed, for a while and soaked in the way the woman looked, the light bouncing from her dark and luxurious hair, her figure bent casually at the waist as she stared indifferently into the distance. Taking in a lungful of air, she stepped forward causing the other to become aware of her presence. She turned and fixed Regina with a wavering gaze.

"So," she whispered, a ghost of a smile on her face which did not reach her watery eyes, "What is the verdict?"

Regina couldn't bring herself to smile in return. Verdict. An apt word. It certainly felt like this was her punishment for the crimes she had committed three decades ago. It was only a shame that Elena was to be punished with her.

"I'm leaving," Regina said. There was no emotion in her voice. All thoughts had been supressed.

Elena nodded. She had already known.

"When?"

The question hung in the air between them before Regina could bring herself to answer.

"This evening," she said, her voice cracking. It broke her heart knowing that she was doing the same to the other woman.

"So soon?" Elena questioned, her voice only just remaining steady and a silent panic spreading behind her eyes.

"Emma is eager to get back," she offered by way of explanation. "I'm sorry, Elena."

"No," replied Elena, "It's alright." She placed a tentative hand on Regina's cold cheek before letting it fall to her side. "It's not your fault, 'Gina," she whispered. "I understand."

Regina felt the silky material of Elena's dress brush past her side as she walked towards the balcony doors and suddenly realised that this might be the last time they were ever alone together.

"Elena, wait!" she called out. The retreating figure stopped. "I love you," she said.

Elena felt a tear rolling down her cheek. Her heart was bleeding.

"I love you too."

She cast a meaningful glance back at the only woman she would ever love and their eyes locked so that they almost didn't notice the small voice coming from the doorway.

"You love each other?"

It was Henry.

Both women switched their attention to the child who was looking hopefully into their faces. Elena looked at her feet and blushed but Regina, who knew Henry better than anyone, just nodded.

"Yes, we do," she added simply.

Henry flicked between their saddened faces.

"Then why are you leaving?" he asked, clearly not understanding. Regina let out a teary laugh at his confused expression and hurried towards him, enveloping him in her arms

"Because of you, dear," she explained, "because I love you too."

Henry returned her hug as tightly as his little arms could manage.

"Then stay," he cried passionately into her arm. "You have to stay with your true love,"

It was then Regina's turn to blush at such a meaningful term.

"No, dear," she sighed resignedly, "I can't leave you."

"Then I'll stay too," he decided, his voice taking on a hardened, _no arguing_ tone that was quite frightening in the child.

Regina's heart leapt with sudden hope at his words before she shook her head. "No, Henry. Your mother wouldn't allow it. She's right, your home is in Storybrooke."

"No it's not. My home is with you," he argued, giving her his most serious expression. "And if you want to stay, so do I."

"Henry…" Elena started this time but Regina was beginning to allow herself to hope. Wasn't that what they had agreed, that Henry would only go with Emma if that was what he wanted, and if he refused…

"Your mother wants what's best for you," Elena was explaining to a pouting Henry, "and we believe that that means returning to Storybrooke."

"Why don't you understand?" he asked, frustrated. "I don't care where I am. I just want to be with my family, and that includes you, Elena." He directed a reproachful glance in her direction and with his last words he melted the hearts of both women. Elena smiled despite herself.

"Perhaps, then, it is what's best," Regina agreed hesitantly, looking up to Elena's eyes with hope. She watched as a grain of happiness sparked to life there and Elena's smile widened even further, causing Regina's heart to leap at the beautiful dimples that formed at the corners of her perfect mouth.

"Yay!" Henry celebrated, just like a kid at Christmas and rushed through the door, saying as he went, "I'll go tell Emma." And with that he was gone.

Neither woman had quite recovered from what had just happened but before Regina could think clearly, she was surprised by a desperate embrace. Elena wrapped her arms around her waist and back, squeezing so hard it was almost painful to Regina. But Regina didn't care. She merely lost herself to the sensation of the other woman's scent and touch, breathing in the aroma of her hair and skin. For minutes they stood there, holding each other before Regina let out a careless laugh, the first in a long time.

"What?" Elena smiled into her neck.

"We have time, dear," she replied before reaching up to stroke the dark tendrils of her love's hair and finally placing a chaste kiss upon the pink lips she's been staring at for days.

"We have time," she repeated.

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 **Yayyyyyy! And that's the end unless you want to read the epilogue which covers what happens afterwards. Please review and give me your thoughts. :) Luvs ya**


	17. Epilogue

After that, Emma decided to stay in The Enchanted Forest. It wasn't her first choice but in time she realised that home was where the family was and even discovered within herself her parents' desire for adventure. When she was not exploring the forest, or even the high seas with Killian, she lived in her parents' palace, The White Castle, which Elena had rebuilt for them.

Henry visited both sides of the family often and never truly lived in one home, preferring to split his time between his adoptive family and his birth family. Because of their history, the ties between the Charmings and the Queen's household were practically unbreakable and though Elena was technically their queen, she continued to hold a great deal of respect for both of them. She allowed them to look after their corner of the kingdom practically unaided as she knew that the people had boundless faith in Snow White and her prince.

Meanwhile, Red returned to Storybrooke alone to spread the news that the kingdom was united once again and that it was safe to return. Slowly but surely, men, dwarves and fairies began to trickle back into the forest but many of them also decided to stay, happy with the lives they had already. Granny was one of those who continued to live in Storybrooke with Red, keeping up the successful diner that had become her life and purpose.

Elena and Regina continued to live in the Dark Castle from which Elena, with the expertise of her new queen whom she married later that year, ruled the rest of her kingdom and was probably the best ruler they had had since before the unfortunate days of the Evil Queen. Elena was always quick to defend Regina in the face of any accusations and the people eventually learned that, though they may not forgive the ex-Evil Queen, she would always do right by her wife.

* * *

 _Five years later_

Elena walked in to the sunbathed room of the Dark Castle. The outside was still as foreboding as it had been when it was first built but inside, it was just home. After five years of catering for the every need of her kingdom, she finally felt as though she was getting the hang of it. Regina had been a godsend in the first few months and Elena had to admit she knew her stuff. She walked over a couch in the corner where the teenage Henry was reading a book. She looked at the title: _Heroes and Villains_.

"Is it good?" she asked him.

"Alright," he replied nonchalantly. "I feel sorry for the villain."

She smiled fondly at him, thinking that he was definitely Regina's son.

"Archery later?" she asked.

"Yeah!" he cried with a little more enthusiasm.

"Ok then, but don't tell your mother," she said, lowering her voice, "she hasn't forgiven me for last time when you almost shot her horse."

"What are you two conspiring about?" asked the woman in question as she walked into the room holding a reluctant toddler by the hand.

"Nothing," the accused answered together.

Regina raised her eyebrows. "Oh really?"

" _what is it what is it what is it?"_ asked the little girl mercilessly, running up to Elena and tugging on her hand. She smiled down at her daughter, Isabelle. She had both the women's dark brown hair and though her eyes had mellow chocolatey richness of Regina's, her skin was paler and her hair curled in the exact same places as Elena.

"Don't worry, dear," Regina smirked. "They can have their secrets and we can have ours." She then bent down to whisper secretly into her daughters ear. Elena watched bemused as the girl's face gradually grew in excitement until she could hold it no longer and burst.

" _Apple Pastries?"_ she squealed at the top of her voice, a hand covering her mouth in overdramatic delight. And with that, she ran out of the room, brimming with energy.

The two women waited until she had left before they finally burst into laughter.

"She definitely gets that from you," Regina accused her wife, playfully. She put her arms around the other's waist.

"I'm..." Elena thought, "not disputing that," she finished causing Regina to let out another smirk. Brushing a hair from her beloved's face, she placed a meaningful kiss to her lips. And with that they were lost again in each others arms before Henry finally turned around and saw what they were doing.

"Ewww. Moms!"

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 **I just had to add this scene in because I wanted to do a bit about the child they have together. So cute. :)**


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